Happy Thanksgiving, my friends. It occurs to me that if we’re gathering in spirit and not in person, many more of us can be together than would actually fit in my living room. You’re all invited over in spirit to share gratitude and hope. And spirit pie.
The New York Public Library has made PAPER SON their Book of the Day for Oct. 17!
How cool is that? Thank you, Patience and Fortitude!
Dark Shadows Air is pleased to announce the addition of Antifa Airlines to our group. Now local and international travel for mercenary mayhem is easier than ever before! With Antifa Airlines joining Dark Shadows Air, as well as land partners Underground Railways and Good Trouble Bus Lines, and sea-going Red October Cruises, International Conspiracy proudly offers outside agitators a broad choice of travel modes and destinations. You will earn valuable Revolutionary Rewards points for each trip you take. These points are redeemable at any of our travel partners, and at participating church basement sleeping quarters and vegan meal stops.*
*Masks are required on all trips and at all destinations. Regulations on black uniforms and soup cans in luggage vary. Check your carrier.
I know most people who read me think as I do about the political and cultural moment we find ourselves in. That means I’m preaching to the choir, but here’s the thing about the choir: a lot of choir members don’t sing. They come in on the “Amens” but their voices are missing in the long passages.
Mike Pence says, “The hard truth is you will not be safe in Joe Biden’s America.” Well, do you feel safe now?
People of color, do you feel safe?
People out of work, do you feel safe?
People depending on Social Security, do you feel safe?
People depending on Obamacare, do you feel safe?
People trying to educate your children, do you feel safe?
People suffering the effects of climate change — monster hurricanes, forest fires — do you feel safe?
People with disabilities, do you feel safe?
People who live on fracked land, do you feel safe?
People who want to control your own bodies, do you feel safe?
If you don’t, it’s because you’re not. So go beyond the “Amens.” Work from now until the election for the Democrat of your choice. VOTE and get other silent choir members to VOTE. We can raise our diverse voices in a never-before-heard harmony in this country, the aural equivalent of the gorgeous mosaic we are, if everyone will sing.
God on His golden throne looked down on the earth and sighed. He called unto Himself all the smartest people in Heaven and they came, trailing clouds of glory, to hear His will.
“I despair,” said the Lord. “I meant for humankind to be the pinnacle of my Creation. Yet behold, they choose for their leaders the most selfish and evil among them. They persecute and kill each other and they lay waste on all sides. If they continue on this course they’ll soon destroy the emerald planet I made for them. What shall I do?”
From the smart people came the chorus, “Smite them! Smite them!”
“No,” the Lord said. “Honestly, I could have thought of that without you all clogging up my throne room. But I promised humankind free will. They must be allowed to choose their fate but they must NOT be allowed to proceed as they are doing. You were all human once. You know how they think. Who among you can make a suggestion?”
Silence fell among the smart people. Until finally one spoke up.
“Well,” said Charles Darwin, “I have an idea.”
Neither of these guys is the baby, who comes as soon as I fill the feeder, before the bigger squirrels and the birds get here. I think he sits and waits. These two are siblings, two of the four born in the tree this year. Things were not this amicable for long. They kept whacking each other over the head and diving for the best seeds. They did share the feeder without actually chasing each other off, though. A big crow came to watch, but he clearly decided the whole thing was just going to be trouble, so he left. Bella practically lost her mind over the two squirrels, but she was a little intimidated by the size of the crow. So was I.
Mystery Writers of America does not support or tolerate discrimination of any kind. We stand proudly with our Black members, and implore our entire membership to start listening, speaking out, and amplifying the voices that have been silenced for far too long. Listening leads to understanding, and action leads to change. We cannot move forward as a society or culture without recognizing the disparities that permeate both.
As Chester Himes said, “Democracy is not tolerance. Democracy is a prescribed way of life erected on the premise that all men are created equal.’”
If you’re looking for a way to get involved, to educate yourself, or to expand your perspective, here are some places to start:
Black Lives Matter: https://blacklivesmatter.com
Campaign Zero: https://www.joincampaignzero.org
Fair Fight: https://fairfight.com
The Bail Project: https://bailproject.org
NAACP Legal Defense Fund: https://www.naacpldf.org
Southern Poverty Law Center: https://www.splcenter.org
ACLU: https://www.aclu.org
Crime Writers of Color Book List: https://www.crimewritersofcolor.com/books
Frankie’s List (hosted by Sisters in Crime): https://www.sistersincrime.org/page/FrankiesList
An Antiracist Reading List from Ibram X. Kendi: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/29/books/review/antiracist-reading-list-ibram-x-kendi.html
We Need Diverse Books Resources for Race, Equity, Anti-Racism, and Inclusion: https://diversebooks.org/resources-for-race-equity-and-inclusion/
Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (from ALA’s Public Programming Office’s Great Stories Club): http://www.ala.org/tools/programming/greatstories/resources
List of Coretta Scott King Book Award Winners (books for children and young adults): https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/coretta-scott-king-book-award-winners
A couple of people have asked if I’d write about what it’s like here in NYC these days. First, thanks for your concern, those of you who’ve asked if I and mine are okay. We are; I know what it looks like on the TV news, but this is not a war zone. I went to the Greenmarket this morning, on the north side of Union Square; the south side has been the staging area for the Manhattan protests. The farmers were selling produce and bread, people were shopping, folks were wearing masks and being orderly. Nevertheless, when I asked one of the farmers whether there’d been extra thought given to whether to come in today, she said no but they expected the market would shut down early as it had on Saturday to give people a chance to clear out before the protests started.
I’ve been hearing helicopters since Friday, sirens occasionally. I’m in the West Village, about a mile from Union Square itself and a mile from Soho, where a lot of luxury shops were hit hard. Near Union Square I saw three broken windows — a restaurant, where the bar had been looted, a Verizon store, and a sneaker store. Nothing else, though some stores are boarding up in anticipation of more to come tonight.
Will there be more tonight? I suspect so, but I also think the intensity will taper off. In normal times it would taper way off as people went back to work, but of course part of the problem is everyone’s been out of work for nearly three months.
I’ve seen videos of the looting at Gucci, at Dolce & Gabbana, and I’ve seen a lot of posts asking, “How does this help?” Also, photos of destruction with “I’ve never seen NYC like this!” captions.
First, for the NYC-has-hit-the-apocalypse crowd, I refer you to the 1970’s fiscal crisis, to AIDS, to 9/11 — oh, go look it up: the history of NYC. We’ve been here before. We’ll be here when this is over.
Second, and more important, for the “How does this help?” people, I suggest that’s the wrong question. For the record, nobody’s saying looting Gucci “helps.” But I’ll bet a lot of good upright citizens in 1773 asked, “How does this help?” when rioters seized 342 chests of tea from ships of the British East India Company — a private company — and dumped it overboard to protest government action. The rationale then was the same as now, and can be encapsulated into this: when Colin Kaepernick took a knee to protest police killing black men, he was called a son of a bitch by the sitting President and he lost his job. Or this: the Tulsa Race Massacre, 99 years ago to the day today, when white Tulsa rose up and, burning, murdering, and rampaging, destroyed the most prosperous black community in the country. (Did you learn about that riot in school?) Or this: the NYC Draft Riots of 1863, when a group of white men, angry at being drafted into the Army by a white President to fight other white men, lynched black men and burned buildings, including the Colored Orphan Asylum, to the ground. (Did you learn about that riot in school?)
I suggest that instead of uttering a rhetorical gasp, people might read Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Colson Whitehead, Attica Locke, Ta-Nehisi Coates; to listen to measured voices, which are speaking even now; and to ask the only question that can even begin to stop this endless repetition, which is: “How can I help?”
Multispecies Dining and Entertainment, Extremely Ltd., headquartered at Rancho Obsesso on Long Island’s North Fork, has opened an outpost in a leafy backyard near Washington Street in Manhattan. Appropriately dubbed the Fire Escape Café (“Where the Tweet and the Fleet Meet”) this casually intimate eatery features easy access and a limited but well-prepared menu served in a wittily re-purposed frying pan. The proprietor is eager to please and the security staff is assiduous but unobtrusive. No reservations; we recommend arriving early, as once the day’s offerings are gone the proprietor pulls down the shade and the security staff takes a well-deserved rest.
Early morning diner
Patron waits for entry
Security staff in the break room
All contents © 2013 SJ Rozan