I recently received a phone call from a former roommate of mine. When he used to live at the house, he and I would engage in discussions, usually having some opposing views. He would assert his views as "the truth" in some form, which I would brush off as being symptomatic of his 19 year old arrogance. (Hey, we all go through it.) So when he called to tell me that he was starting a "psychological revolution", I braced myself for an interesting conversation.
The concept of his revolution was this: What does everyone want? They want attention. So give it to them. Listen to everyone, no matter what. Sounds simple enough, right? Even compassionate. But while I agreed that we should make more of an effort to listen to people, especially the voices of those which the dominant society attempts to suppress, I also recognized that listening to everyone wasn't always possible, nor always helpful to our own selves. If we listened to everyone, where would our own voice be? And what about listening to those who released within us psychological triggers? Would that be helpful to us personally, to sacrifice our own psychological well being for the purpose of the greater "psychological revolution"?
Throughout our brief discussion, I realized that something was not right with this person I was speaking to. I had an inkling at the beginning, but as it began to unfold, I saw more and more that this person was pretty much off his rocker. He attested that what he was doing at that moment, i.e. listening to me, was revolutionary. I told him that while it could be a revolutionary act, depending upon the context, it was not in an of itself a revolution, nor would such a large scale revolution occur. When I asked him why he was doing this, trying to start a revolution, he replied, "Because I'm a megalomaniac." (I actually had to look the definition up because I had forgotten what it was. Courtesy of The American Heritage Dictionary, here is the definition of megalomania: "A mental disorder characterized by delusions of wealth, power, or omnipotence.") I don't know for sure if he is a megalomaniac (though he defined his state of being as "someone who stirs up the pot, starting revolutions and inciting anarchy."), but he certainly seemed manic. It was clear to me that the conversation was not going anywhere constructive, and I ended it by telling him that he needed professional help. I was completely serious. "Ok. Later, Beth." And that was it.
So what does this preamble have to do with someone named Kunstler? Well, nothing directly. I'll tie everything together at the end, I promise. But for now, I'll move on and tell you who William "Bill" Kunstler was. (And if you already know, you can skip this section if you wish.)
Kunstler was an American lawyer during the 1960s through the early 90s, who famously began championing civil rights along with Dr. King Jr. Not only that, but he defended nine people who stole and burned draft files in protest of the Vietnam War. Furthermore, he defended eight people who were on trial for inciting a riot during the 1968 protest of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, which included Bobby Seal (one of the members of the Black Panther Party). He stood with the American Indian Movement (AIM) when they occupied Wounded Knee. He also negotiated with the prisoners at Attica prison in New York after the prisoners took over, not in order to be freed, but that their physical conditions may be improved upon. (That situation, unfortunately, ended in tragedy. Over 30, mostly black, prisoners were killed, along with nine prison guards, by the police who came in shooting, no questions asked.) Later in his career, he took even more controversial cases, such as defending an Arab man who shot and killed a leader of a radical Jewish movement which preached hatred against Arabs. He defended people who were defined as terrorists and criminals (such as John Gotti).
Regardless of whether you agree with his actions, whether altogether or in part, there is no denying that this man was amazing. He was a powerhouse, a legend. He stood up against an unjust social and political system and cried out, "Power to the people!" He took the stance that violence committed by the oppressed cannot fully be called violence because the true violence was perpetuated by those who were the oppressors. He asserted that all white people, including himself, were racist by virtue of being born into a system of privilege. This man was, in his own way, a revolutionary. He worked within the legal system in order to expose its injustices. Many may have set out to do the same in their own careers, and have failed. Kunstler succeeded.
Unfortunately, he died at the age of 76. But this entry is not an obituary for a revolutionary. Rather, this man's professional, and in a way personal, life is the inspiration for this entry. I only just learned of Kunstler tonight from watching a documentary that was put together by his daughters called "William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe." It was in viewing this documentary that I began to reflect on the state of revolution and activism in our present day.
Before I go into that, I would like to briefly return to a scene in the film. It's footage of Kunstler giving a commencement speech shortly before his death. In it, he speaks of Michaelangelo's statue of David. I never knew this until now, but that statue is actually about the choice to act. The pose that David is shown to be in is right before he decides to slay Goliath. He has a stone in his right hand, a sling over his shoulder, and he's contemplating what to do. Kunstler used this image as his inspiration, and in his commencement speech sought to inspire those who were graduating. He said that all would encounter moments in their life where they would be called to act. Those moments would most likely not be in the public view, but rather internally, which made it all the more easy to not act. "But," he said, "When the time comes, I hope that you will decide to act, if your time has not come already."
It gave me pause and made me think about when my moment might be, or whether it had already come. Maybe there's more than just one moment for each of us. Some moments are seminal, catapaulting us into a new way of being. Sometimes it is only a moment, or a brief period of time that can shift us minimally until the next time we are called. At any rate, I also started to think about the state of activism now.
The 60s and 70s are long past, and activism has changed significantly in some ways, especially here in the U.S. People still gather in the streets, but this is seen as "symbolic" (and if it's seen as anything else, it's usually as a riot...the recent Oscar Grant protests come to mind). And now, mainstream activism, while still held as "collective", is anything but. It's individuals donating money to their favorite causes, signing petitions online or on the street, sending one word texts to organizations in support of some cause. Direct action has lost its power.
I honestly thought we were getting it back during the Obama campaign. I had hope that we were seeing a revolutionary campaign, that our nation was finally starting to heal from the tyranny and injustice of the Bush adminstration. I really thought that we were going to see a lot of changes happening. Even when Obama promised that it was going to be slow, I wasn't expecting what we have come to see. Yes, some change has occured, but I realize now that we are settling for crumbs when we hoped for a feast. We have started to back down under the pressure of the conservative right wing nuts who want to co-opt the anniversary of The March on Washington. The BP oil spill has destroyed a vital part of an ecosystem (and is STILL destroying it), and no one is out in the streets to protest off shore oil drilling, or to protest judges who have had investments in BP and are letting the big guys at the top off the hook. I know I myself have had to look away and mentally block out what is going on in the Gulf. (And whether you agree with it or not, I have to admire those folks who gathered on the shore to pray. It may not have "worked" but at least it was an effort in the right direction, in the sense that they were putting their energy out into a desperate situation, whereas the rest of us want to turn a blind eye. They at least looked the monster in the face.)
So, now it's time to (attempt) to tie it all together. My former roommate is still clearly off his rocker, and I do sincerely hope that he gets help. But I understand his motives in a way. He wants to DO something. He's tired of the way things are, he sees people are in need of being listened to, and he wants others to start listening. We are a nation that has turned deaf, or at least has selective hearing. We have been this way for quite a long time, but during the time of the 60s and 70s, even though it was a time of intense struggle, there were people who listened. And it did change things to an extent. Where I feel we are now as a whole is in a state of apathy and hopelessness. We're tired and our movements have been co-opted by the powerful. Power no longer rests with the people but with the consumer who can buy that shirt from the GAP so that the money goes to support AIDS relief...or who can buy that plastic bottle made from plants so they can feel good about themselves for helping to "save" the planet...or who can buy fair trade coffee from Starbucks in order to "support" worker's rights.
This is the political and social state of things. In spite of this, I am not calling for a revolution. Honestly, I think with any revolution that occurs, the end result will be far different than what people originally envision. Honestly, I don't exactly know what I want to happen. I guess I want our actions of fighting for what's right to actually MEAN something. That they won't be merely symbolic but show our real power as a collective. I guess I want what my former (now slightly megalomaniac) roommate says every person on the planet wants: I want the voices of the oppressed to be listened to. More than that, I want things to change as a result of listening.
But who's going to make that happen?
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