Rage against the masheen

-Posted by Isaac

2020 has really tested my bandwidth.

I like blogging about real-world stuff.

Bees and honey and rocks and trees and sunshine and rain and silence and darkness and the moon and moon songs and road trips and bike rides.

That’s what I tried last week. It was nice. No criticisms.

And sometimes it’s fun to get a little dicy. It’s been easy in 2020. There’s an ocean in a bathtub when I go with love and hate and life and death and drugs and money and society and God and religion and capitalism and socialism and patriotism and social media and politics.

For that stuff, the opinions come flying. Mostly ribbing. But I can take it. At the very least, I can usually find a song to fit. (Oh, that Gregory Alan Isakov.)

But this week (thank you 2020), we step it up.

Jayne tells me that the Instagram crowd has been all about the racial protests. In fact, lately, if you post about your business or kids or the like, there’s a feeling of being purposely obtuse and shallow. Or silent on the issue.

And we wouldn’t want that. Not for this bee blog. We’re going to get into it. I mean, we’ve already explored the big disgusting slurry of society and money and politics and religion and God.

Sure, racial injustice—water’s great, come on in!

It got heated this week, didn’t it? For a minute there, I thought the pandemic was over. Social media erupted. A week ago it was the mask-wearers vs. non-maskers. Now it’s Black Lives Matter vs. All Lives Matter. And don’t forget the Blue Lives. They matter too.

It’s nuts. We’re angry, we’re pissed, we’re divided, we’re spouting off, we’re running our mouths. (I’m sorry, I mean our memes.) We’re tear gassing, shooting, beating, arresting, protesting, fighting, throwing bricks, breaking stuff, looting stuff…

Is there any solution to any of this?

Of course! The obvious. Old Faithful.

Problem is, marijuana is only temporary. We have to think about the future.

And for that we need someone who’s seen the future. Whenever I feel trepidatious about what’s to come, I think, WWJD— What Would Joe Do? I look to the oracle:

I have studied, I have scrutinized, and I have learned. Based on today’s trajectory, if you consult the oracle, I mean really looking deep, it gives away so many aspects of what’s coming.

For instance, our criminal justice system:

Yep, still crappy. Still socially stratified. Still wealth-biased.

And our education system? Our prison system?

Yep, still overcrowded. Still sucky.

How about our policing? Our neighborhoods?

Yep, still violent.

But you know what I didn’t see? —Racial fighting. Everyone was getting along. Black, brown, white, Asian… Creole? Everyone was cool. Just living their lives, being extremely stupid, together. Like brothers.

And you know what this means? At some point, at some monumental moment between now and that distant rosy future, something happened. We pivoted away from all this fighting.

Is this it? Is this the moment? Maybe so! And if it is, if this really is when history changes by golly, I want to be on the right side of history. I’m throwing my Honeyrun support toward the protesters.

In fact, I can even look past a little smashing and looting. Come on down protesters! Take some honey! Break a window while you’re at it. I’ve got pallets of bricks.

If it helps in any way to nullify 400 years of slavery, oppression, Jim Crow laws, redlining districts, injustice, civil rights strife, discrimination, segregation, castigation and police brutality… then I’m all for it. Smash the place!

White Guilt manifest! Just be sure you’ve got the right address. I don’t have to tell you, but these country roads are lined with guns and alcohol. With a few pockets of abject poverty thrown in for good measure. In some ways, come to think of it, it’s a little like the Hood.

You know, it’s a shame we can’t combine our forces. I mean, come together to go a’smashing at our common enemy— The System. That looting cesspool of bootlicking-enabler-shills, gutless bunker-hiding cowards, those soulless tax-skirting corporate and government thugs who use lawyers and lobbyists, accountants and judges to do their smashing. They don’t need bricks. And they don’t take TVs. They take billion$ and billion$.

Let’s go protesters! God is with you! Now is the time! ¡Viva Dios!

Rage!

Take us to that bright I-Have-A-Dream future for which we so desperately long.