The Long Road Out

I can't express my feeling about the Davos Economic Summit, currently performing it's annual circus, better than Joseph Stiglitz: “They are now licking their lips,” said Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel laureate economist. “Davos Man has been able to overlook Trump’s ‘America First’ rhetoric, his anti-climate-change action, his protectionism, nativism, racism, bigotry, narcissism, misogyny, for the lucre that seems to be the true motivating force behind Davos Man.” Indeed... I'm trying to imagine a policy level definition of some of the economic chaos generated in the last weeks.   There isn't one, not that the Dow Jones isn't loving every minute of it.   But what sort of policy combines: bonuses paid by Walmart based on some tax change-- tarifs slapped on random goods (this week's list includes foreign-made washing machines and solar panels. I assume Trump played golf with some one in the roofing and some one in the appliance industry last week.)-- random s...

  I ran volunteer networks for Planned Parenthood, and attended founding meetings of women centers and academic meetings ranging from the National Womens' Studies Association on down.  I've marched in every major women's march since the 70's—and a bunch of great local ones (I still get teary-eyed on Broadway in NYC recalling the excitement at some of those Take Back the Night marches in the 80's).   I even got arrested at the women's peace encampment at Seneca Falls.   I'm the real deal…a feminist man.   My resume is great! So why the fuck don't I want to go to the march this weekend?   My habits are so strong that I've been planning sign painting events and group meet ups, blithely ignoring my honest feelings.   I'm not interested. What happened?   Did I get bored?   I don't think so…maybe I'm numb to my heart here too, but I feel like I've been getting more animated about my p...

Ah, Denver, or Texas recently.   Or NYC.   Add them to the list.  This violence made my partner recall a paraphrase of the Margaret Atwood quote:    “Men are afraid women will make fun of them.   Women are afraid men will kill them.” Wife- and pet-beater kills people.   Feels kind of like slipping on an old shoe, doesn't it.   Indeed, it's the core US myth.  It’s our national story. It isn't enough we have the bully who authorizes all U.S. bullies, Trump, mouthing off like a crybaby.   The rest of the world already recognizes that he's representative of our joint narrative.   Guy who can't keep a relationship going.  Gets angry.  Takes it out on the women closest to him first, then every one, randomly.   We're going to let this pass too.   Mass Violence Incident 10, 850 (this is only the 2017 file we're reviewing so the numbers only go into the mid-five digits). Since violence against women (and anim...