Columbus Day: Is the Tide Turning?

Every year, we try to post about Columbus Day, a really troubling American holiday. This year will be short and sweet. First, there has been an increase in Indigenous People's Days across the country, and the demand might be rising. In the last year alone, at least 14 places have made the change from Columbus Day to Indigenous People's Day. This is encouraging. Second, recognition of American brutality to American Indians/Native Americans (I've gotten a mixed response from the community about what they prefer to be called) has absolutely risen. This can be seen in sports, hardly a place for American sensibilities (though that is also changing, thanks to #BlackLivesMatter, amongst other movements). Several teams have changed mascots, have changed chants, have changed logos, and there's a huge stink over one that hasn't (the D.C. football team, who, coincidentally, seem to be subject to a series of unfortunate events....just saying). Third, American Indian/Native American culture has gotten a lot more attention, evidenced by the very popular new-ish Smithsonian Museum. I'm not saying everything is grand, and that we can finally be rid of the inaccurate portrayal of Columbus and the minimization of the role of Native Americans/American Indians in American history (conservative Texas schools have a large influence on national textbooks, and they have definitely gotten some troubling inaccuracies into them), but this is a good start. Also, last year, God, influenced by Howard Zinn's writing, weighed in on the debate (this is a hilarious video). For more thoughts, click here.

Columbus Day: Make it Stop!

Happy Columbus Day, everybody. This has become a No Spoon tradition - a post reflecting on Columbus. Another year, another day off off for me and many other Americans thanks to one of the most offensive holidays in America. (This year, we see even more places fighting back - Seattle joined Minneapolis and other places that no longer celebrates Columbus Day, as they instead opted for Indigenous People's Day).

We shouldn't celebrate a man who outright massacred an indigenous population. What makes matters worse is that children generally get a whitewashed (yes, ironic term) history of Columbus, where he is some hero who discovered a land (he obviously didn't), and are taught nothing about the horrific acts he committed.

So, maybe you think we shouldn't be teaching young kids about genocide. Ok, but at the very least, we shouldn't be teaching them to lionize a terrible person. Just keep in mind what Columbus actually did. We've known about the specifics, in pretty specific and graphic detail, for quite some time now, thanks to La Casas.

Anyway, I wanted to refer you to 3 4 5 things (see, I update this post every year!) on Columbus Day. One is a previous year's post about it from me. Two, check out this video from the National History Day documentary competition. It's relatively short (10 minutes). Three, it's high time to rethink Columbus Day. Four, check out this good read on Columbus, La Casas, and many things we simply have wrong about Columbus (for instance, did you know that Columbus was, in some way, the father of the trans-Atlantic slave trade?). Five, watch this awesome short video from the excellent John Oliver on Columbus Day.


Columbus - The Hidden History from Nonchalant Filmmakers on Vimeo.

A Guide to MEDIA ACTIVISM by Guest Writer Sayeed Khan

It’s clear that mainstream news media is consistently biased in certain matters relating to foreign policy. Coverage of the recent attacks in Gaza are yet another example of info that is one sided or simply wrong. The growth of social media has given people a chance to present alternative news and influence public opinion. Public opinion influences public policy, and the views of the masses should never be underestimated.

In addition to social media, there is another way to have a direct impact on mainstream news. “Media Activism” is how I refer to the aggressive monitoring of all forms of media through online comments, radio call ins, and letters to the editor.

Media Activism is a democratic way to monitor--and even influence--news media and the opinions of those who read or view it. This is something that everyone can participate in, and there are no excuses not to.  Instead of simply complaining about biased news media, why not do something about it?  If there were thousands of comments in support of Palestinians, for example, this would influence other readers, as well as producers of news content.

The current focus is on mainstream news media sources which have an online presence. TV Networks such as CNN and ABC News and newspapers such as Chicago Tribune and New York Times all have online comments after each article. The following explains how commenting on these articles can make a big difference.

Building a Balanced Media for #Gaza

ACTION ALERT AT END OF ESSAY!

I ran into an old friend on the train the other day.  He asked how I was and I responded, "completely distraught, aren't you?"  He wasn't.  We proceeded to have a riveting conversation about all of the crimes against humanity around the world and why Gaza in particular was so alarming to people.

It's "mowing the grass," he said.  They do this every other year or so, everyone gets hot and bothered, then things quiet down, everyone forgets, and then the grass needs to be cut again in another two years.  

I tried my best to convince him that it was different this time.  People who typically shrug their shoulders, are speaking out.  People who typically say, "I could never boycott Starbucks," are giving up their coffees.  Reporters are being taken out of Gaza by networks then being put back in because of public pressure. It's different!

Erasing the Past - Redux

A few years back, I wrote about the phenomenon of politically-driven historical amnesia, on the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Well, we're at that date again, and I'm currently in Pakistan, in the middle of some tense political times for this country (and have witnessed plenty of amnesia in this country about its previous sins). While not quite as engineered as the situation in China re: Tiananmen (I mean...what is?), its interesting to see how this idea travels. In the U.S., it definitely occurs as well. Everybody does it. Via the powers of blog flashback, here are some more detailed thoughts on the matter.

Bill Maher Still Doesn't Understand Causality

This is what Maher thinks of causality.

So...yeah...apparently Bill Maher has made zero progress in terms of his understanding of causality over the past few years. I'm not asking him to be a social scientist or anything, but damn. Even after Glenn Greenwald schooled him a year or so ago on his Islamophobia, the guy still doesn't learn. He apparently equated actions by extremists with all of Islam again this past week when discussing the horrible situation with the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram in Nigeria. More importantly, he still doesn't get that if religion and other factors, like politics and institutions vary together pretty closely in certain countries, than religion probably isn't the causal channel. Not recognizing that leads to potential xenophobia, and more importantly, policies that don't solve the issue. Yet plenty of so-called liberals defend Maher on this stuff. This has nothing to do with political ideology, people...it is a basic understanding of causality. Argh. Its sad that I can literally re-post something I wrote 3 years ago about Maher and this topic and have it be 100% relevant, but this is what happens when comedians pretending to be political journalists don't critically evaluate their positions on contentious topics, and instead just double down on their own ideology (in this case, religion is simply stupid to Maher, and Islam is hands down the most reprehensible one around). Read more...

Columbus Day: A Terrible American Holiday

Happy Columbus Day, everybody. This has become a No Spoon tradition - a post reflecting on Columbus. Yet another year and another day off for me because of arguably the worst holiday in America. It feels wrong to celebrate somebody who massacred an indigenous population. It feels worse because kids are generally taught that Columbus was some sort of hero, and learn pretty much nothing about the atrocities he committed. Should we be teaching young kids about genocide? Well...at the very least, we shouldn't be teaching them to lionize somebody who did horrible things. Just keep in mind what Columbus actually did. We've known about the specifics, in pretty specific and graphic detail, for quite some time now, thanks to La Casas.

Anyway, I wanted to refer you to 3 4 things (see, I update this post every year!) on Columbus Day. One is a previous year's post about it from me. Two, check out this video from the National History Day documentary competition. It's relatively short (10 minutes). Three, it's high time to rethink Columbus Day. Four, check out this good read on Columbus, La Casas, and many things we simply have wrong about Columbus (for instance, did you know that Columbus was, in some way, the father of the trans-Atlantic slave trade?).


Columbus - The Hidden History from Nonchalant Filmmakers on Vimeo.

Podcast Episode 8: Reflections on the post 9-11 Decade

Note: this podcast originally appeared on No Spoon on October 14, 2011.

Photographer:  MANDEL NGAN Copyright/Source: AFP/Getty Images

  

On this two-part episode of There is No Spoon we discuss the post 9-11 decade. We cover the cultural and political shifts that we've witnessed in America since the day of the attacks. In particular, we address the leadership gaps, the PATRIOT act and the civil liberties that Americans have "traded" (knowingly or unknowingly) over the past 10 years.

Shahid Buttar, the Executive Director of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee offers an overview of just how far we've wandered from the ideals of a free American democracy, and we talk about whether we can find a way back on track so that we can reclaim some of our constitutional rights.

Joining the discussion are No Spoon team members: Will Ley,  Reggie Miller, Fouad Pervez and Jen Palacio.

Listen to Part 1:

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Listen to Part 2:

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Download part 1: Download this episode (right click and save)
Download part 2:Download this episode (right click and save)
More about the Bill of Rights Defense Committee:
Ten years ago on September 11, 2001, the United States suffered the worst terrorist attack in the nation’s history. In the panic of the weeks that followed, the American government began changing its counterterrorism policies in ways that undermined constitutionally guaranteed civil liberties, culminating in the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act on October 26, 2001. Within two weeks of that law’s passage, on November 10, 2001, organizers in Massachusetts founded the Bill of Rights Defense Committee to fight against that dangerous law and others that followed.

To mark the tenth anniversary of these pivotal events in American history and the history of our organization itself, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee is running a series of articles looking back on the last ten years.

The 9/11 Decade - A Leadership Gap

Note: This post originally appeared on No Spoon on September 18, 2011.

We've just recently seen the 10 year anniversary of 9/11. There have been countless articles and pieces of analysis in the media about the topic, but I wanted to touch on an issue that I think many have neglected: the lack of political and civic leadership in framing 9/11 as a tragedy to connect Americans with others across the globe, which I'd argue has resulted in mostly a lost decade. Instead, 9/11 became an event to separate America from others. This helped enable hyper-nationalism and increased American exceptionalism, both very unusual given the nature of the event. Many leaders, particularly political ones, played this up. A consequence has been that Americans are, today, more likely to distance themselves from various out-groups, both outside of, and in, America (the Islamophobia industry is one of the downstream effects of this).

The Greatest Casualty of 9/11: The America we Knew

Note: This post originally appeared on No Spoon on September 11, 2011.

Shahid Buttar is the Executive Director of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee.

Reflections on the 9/11 attacks are important and moving. But most overlook the enduring legacy of the attacks, in the form of the vastly greater damage done to American principles over the past decade. Whether in the context of surveillance, torture, or the congressional cowardice that has enabled them, our leaders have sullied the legacy of an America that once inspired the world.

Earlier this summer, when facing a crucial accountability moment for an agency that continues to abuse the rights of millions of Americans, members of Congress asked no tough questions, avoided controversy, and submitted to a White House proposal to entrench the FBI leadership—at the same time as they fought to the knuckles over issues that Congress created in the first place by spending the country into a fiscal black hole and absurdly cutting taxes in the midst of multiple wars.

9/11 - 12 Years Later

We at No Spoon have written and discussed the events of September 11th and American society in the years after quite a bit over the years. A lot of what we've discussed is as relevant today as it was then, so I wanted to put up some of our previous posts. Look for them momentarily. In the meantime, I can't help but think of all the innocent people whose lives were taken or shattered in those planes, those towers, the Pentagon, Afghanistan and Iraq, the northern areas of Pakistan, Yemen, as well as all the transgressions against the Constitution and the Bill of Rights in the name of security.

The Boston Marathon Bombing: Impact and Implications

On this episode of the "There is No Spoon" show, we have a detailed discussion of the recent tragedy in Boston and its aftermath. We talk about the impact of the bombing and the aftermath in Boston itself, as well as how it was seen internationally. Also, we discuss the role the media played in the tragedy, particularly the repercussions of the "Disaster Journalism" that resulted. This includes issues of race, ethnicity, "otherness", and simply exercising and excusing poor journalistic practices. Finally, we dive into the question of Miranda rights, as well as what role, if any, Islam and Chechnya have in the debate. On the show are members of the No Spoon team, including Boston-area artist and teacher Jen Palacio (Twitter link), political scientist Fouad Pervez (Twitter link), and Professor of Law and Policy at the Lahore University of Management Sciences Junaid Ahmad.

When Sports and Politics Collide - with Dave Zirin

Dave Zirin, the sports editor of the Nation magazine (who you've probably seen on TV or heard on the radio at some point) joins Ibrahim Abdul-Matin and Fouad Pervez from the No Spoon team to discuss several recent sports events and the political issues underpinning them. In this episode, we discuss Florida Athletic University's decision to sell their stadium's naming rights to a private prison company, the problems with the NCAA as an institution, the role of big money in college sports, baseball academies as sweatshops in Latin America (arguably the most under-covered sports story in the past few weeks, related to Hugo Chavez's death), and the NCAA basketball tournament. Be sure to get Dave's new must-read book, "Game Over: How Politics Has Turned the Sports World Upside Down", which recently received a glowing review in Sports Illustrated. We had technical issues (when taping, Dave's video was frozen and inverted in black and white, hence the references to Ghostface Zirin - YouTube apparently just gave him a blank screen in the final cut), but Google couldn't stop the latest No Spoon episode!

The Banal Militarism of Hollywood

(Reposted from Foreign Policy in Focus: click here for the original) The latest Academy Awards ceremony, which crowned the well-intentioned but fatally flawed Argo as the year’s best film, merely formalized the nearly universal acclaim that director Ben Affleck has received for his gripping CIA drama set in Iran. It also said a lot about what’s wrong with Hollywood today.

Guns are not made in the Ghetto

On Tuesday, Feb 12, 2013 President Obama gave his first State of the Union address of his second term.  Front and center was the issue of gun violence, both in his speech and in the audience.  Most notably, guests Nathaniel and Cleopatra Pendleton, parents of Hadiya Pendelton, attended the address as guests of the President and Mrs. Obama.  Hadiya was gunned down in Chicago just days after performing with her high school band at inauguration.  Along with Hadiya, the President mentioned the mass shootings of Aurora, Colorado, Oak Creek, Wisconsin, Newtown, Connecticut, and Blacksburg, Virginia as reasons for congress to vote on gun control measures.  Alongside the gun control debate we are hearing some discussion of mental health and the need to address mental health in our health care system.  The issue of mental health and its connection to gun violence raises a lot of issues around race, class, and how the two are actually related.  In this first YOUTUBE episode of the No Spoon Show, Fouad Pervez, Reggie Miller, and Fatima Ashraf of the collective team up with American Muslim Health Professionals to discuss mental health and gun violence.  Khizer Husain, President of AMHP, speaks about the definition of mental health and discusses his efforts in Washington with the Department of Health and Human Services to bring this issue to the forefront of our country's overall health care discussion.  Maryum Khwaja, licensed therapist and parter at Nasiha Counseling, LLC in NYC brings an experienced perspective to the table, having served as a therapist for over 10 years in the tri-state area.  Watch and learn. 

About Ending Perpetual War...

There was a lot of hoopla in my city last week, as President Obama was re-inaugurated amidst large crowds. Given the centrality of Obama to our blog (we started this 4 years ago after his initial inauguration, with some of our first posts devoted to capturing the movement that developed around him that catapulted him into the presidency), I though it'd be useful to write down a few thoughts about inauguration #2. The main takeaway from his speech was that he seemed far more bold on domestic politics: the references to climate change, Stonewall, and immigration were much stronger stances than he was willing to make in his first inauguration. Second-term presidencies can bring about more activism, obviously. But, for me, the most interesting part was his discussion of the need to end perpetual war (d'uh, I do international politics). Like so much about Obama, a lot of liberals applauded this (supposedly) brave statement and felt optimism about further distancing ourselves from the Bush years. But...yeah, as seems to be frequently the case with liberals and Obama, they didn't pay attention to what he has actually done. The press didn't do a particularly good job with this either, analyzing his words more than his actions. Perhaps Barry O is really committed to shifting away from militarism. But, the reality is, he's got to walk away from a lot of his own policies to do so.

Who hasn't tried to co-opt MLK?

As we celebrate MLK Day in America today (and the second inauguration of Barack Obama, one that is definitely being linked to MLK on a few levels...more on that later), I started thinking: why do we know so little about the real King and, as a result, why are so many able to co-opt his messages?

The MLK we're told about (that I've written about before - click here and here to read more) was a man who told us to live together in peace, for whites and blacks to embrace each other, and let our kids play together. This isn't a bad message at all, of course. However, we rarely get the more complicated politics that MLK touched on. He understood the connection between racism, economics, and politics. "I have a dream" is very special and historical...but the dream MLK wanted us to get to involved addressing war, poverty, and the nature of our political system. He was pro-labor (he was assassinated while supporting sanitation workers on strike in Memphis). He was critical of the economic divide in America. He was staunchly opposed to the Vietnam war, and not supportive of our foreign policy in general. He thought we exploited the poor at home and abroad. He had problems with moderate white American leaders, who would be willing to compromise on social issues to bring about a "peace" without justice. So...yeah, not as warm and fuzzy as we hear about. Of course, reality makes him (and those who fought alongside him - one man does not make a movement) far more courageous, noble, and worthy of rememberance. It wasn't easy to fight against segregation. Fighting against segregation, Vietnam, poverty, aspects of capitalism, political dealmaking...yeah, that's a lot more challenging.

What about the minds of the everyday people?

Mental health is today’s hot topic given last month’s tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut.  The importance of this issue is no longer a topic for discussion but a topic for action.  It is imperative that our health care system create room for mental illness to be de-stigmatized, detected, treated, and prevented.  As I see it, the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease is great for the one who has it; the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses is great for the person, their family, and their entire community.

But, as we begin to focus detection of mental illness on high-risk individuals in order to prevent heinous crimes like those in Aurora, Colorado, Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and Newtown, Connecticut, we cannot forget the importance of the mental health of the general population.  Just as no one is safe from developing cancer these days, no one is safe from a mental health issue.  Our world is a high stress place and with events like yesterday’s becoming more commonplace, it’s becoming even more stressful.

Islamists can make...peace?

Children in Gaza celebrate the ceasfire

I'm not going to rehash the madness re: the violence in Gaza over the past week. There has been plenty written about it, much of it not particularly well. However, now that we have a ceasefire, there is one thing I wanted to bring up. Who helped broker this ceasefire? Well...looks like the big bad Egyptian government. You know, the country run by Mohammad Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood guy. Yes. The Muslim Brotherhood. Remember all that talk after the Egyptian Revolution about how democratization in the Middle East was not cool because they'd elect people we didn't like...and people who'd cause more trouble? Yeah...funny how that worked out.

The Plutocrats are Coming!

Plutocrats have played a prominent role in the 2012 American elections. Plutocracy is basically the notion of rule by the wealthy - it has been used pretty negatively throughout history, but also has been a propaganda tool by some of the worst facist states of our time. There is little debate that we have some sort of plutocracy in America today - especially post-Citizens United, the rich have an inordinate amount of influence in our political system. In the 2010 races, outside money played a huge role in the GOP winning back the House of Representatives, and in this year's campaign cycle, the ultra wealthy are putting in even more dollars, mostly to support Mitt Romney and the Republicans. But...plutocracy isn't necessarily about political ideology - Democrats get plenty of money from the wealthy, too. In recent years, plutocrats have felt more under assault in America than ever before - this may be technically true, because they've been paying historically low taxes, so any interest in raising these rates will threaten them, whether fair or not. With the financial meltdown, there is a greater interest in the wealth gap, which has widened substantially. In the 1960s, workers made a few times less than CEOs, but now, they make hundreds of times less than CEOs. Additionally, plutocrats basically failed...their insistence on deregulation and their risky financial behavior played a major role in the economic meltdown. Of course, the backlash only seemed to solidify in their minds that they know what's right for the country, and seemed to create greater paranoia that everyone is out to get them. The right-wing hasn't helped matters much, though they might be getting their cues from the people who are financially backing them...wait for it...the plutocrats! Just look at who bankrolls the Tea Party, for example - Jane Mayer's famous expose on the Koch brothers is here). The 2012 race seems to bring the issue of plutocracy to the forefront...though, again, both Democrats and Republicans are relying on the wealthy to finance them. For a great discussion of this issue, check out this fantastic discussion on Bill Moyers' show, with guests Matt Taibbi (of Rolling Stone) and Chrystia Freeland (of Reuters).