Tales from the Swamp

All photos in this post are of the Lake Conestee, SC nature preserve.

~*~

I have not been updating regularly since I have been hanging out in the swamp. Hope you like my photos of Lake Conestee swamps! It is an amazing and beautiful place. (As always, you can click all photos to enlarge.)



I decided my whole motif would be SWAMPS, since I realized, SWAMPS is where its at. As we used to say.

Which swamp should I cover first?

First up, the swamp of the kkk, which has been organizing here in South Carolina. They scheduled a rally for July 25th, so we had a "counter-rally" here in Greenville--although I would have preferred going down to Abbeville, where they are. Scary, but not so bad if we went in a large group. As I have written here before, I have disrupted one kkk rally (where I also got on the History channel) and nearly got killed at the second one (mentioned in passing here), so I appreciate the importance of traveling in a large group.

But the peaceniks organizing the rally didn't want any possibility of violent altercations. This is totally understandable, but... meh. Hey, the kkk invited everyone to come, didn't they? That is accepting an invitation, not starting an altercation. But yes, I guess that's quibbling.

It was a good protest rally, extremely well-behaved, where I saw the wonderful Camille Lewis and we did a selfie together. I was pleased by all the positive vibes, but I was aggravated that anyone believed the kkk would care what we were doing. I would like to MAKE THEM CARE. Like that guy years ago who drove his car into the Redneck Shop (kkk outpost) in Laurens County. Okay, maybe not that extreme, but something to garner serious media attention.

It is interesting that when I posted about the uptick in kkk activity on Tumblr, I was ignored. (I guess the kkk is just too "Mississippi Burning" for their taste? Old school. Not hip-hop enough.) At least they do seem to care about the recent racial unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, which is pretty bad. The police shooting of Michael Brown has ignited days of turmoil and rioting. The National Guard is there now, and it isn't any quieter.

No Justice, No peace.

The conservatives often claim that slogan is a "veiled threat"--but actually, it is simply a naked fact.



One of the pieces I was working on was about the last year I have spent on Tumblr, which is most assuredly one of the major cesspools of the world wide web. My time there is fast winding down, although I still enjoy all the photos of baby goats, weird art and old rock stars. (Not to mention stunning photos of LIZ!)

My consigliere Gregg asked me, live on the radio* even, why I went to a place that drives me crazy, and I answered honestly: because its where all the "social justice warriors" are now, and as a lefty, feminist, vegetarian (etc), I felt that it was my JOB; I needed to keep tabs on the place. And of course, I got sucked right in... swamps can be dangerous, especially when they FLOOD ALL OVER THE PLACE. Yigh!

Some of the arguments I engaged in were fairly predictable, especially after I posted THIS about one of the main Tumblr stars who is likely a cop (or equivalent), and after I figured out who some of the primary shit-stirrers are over there. Lo and behold... this gang includes people from Salon Rose, that old email list I was on. I am not surprised at all, since I could spot some of the same arguments that were first presented on the list, arguments I once decided were far too outlandish to be taken seriously. These arguments are now considered acceptable, i.e. you shouldn't say penises are male, since (some) trans women have them too. This is patently ridiculous. (Some humans don't have legs, so should we not say humans have legs? And there are far more humans missing legs than trans women with penises.) The recent article by Michelle Goldberg in the New Yorker about radical feminism vs trans feminism got everybody all worked up again. Lots of people who didn't know how "bad" the whole feud had become, are now reading this stuff for the first time. Tumblr is the incubator for most of this madness.

I found it well-nigh impossible not to get pulled into the swamp, since due to the email list, I know the colorful (and constantly-rewritten) personal histories of many of the instigating parties. Many are fakes; some are "trans women" not even living as women at all (but that doesn't stop them from knowing absolutely everything about womanhood). They have repeatedly told me they are far more woman than I could ever be. When I ask them what "woman" means, no answers. None will define this thing, WOMAN, that they claim they are. So I guess they ARE more woman than me, since it is apparently whatever they say it is.

In addition, there was the rape of a trans woman that has been covered up, and the rape-apologist squad have acted exactly like any other marauding gang, denying any responsibility towards the mentally ill person who was targeted. This made me furious, and when I mentioned it (and asked why are they covering it up), they accused me of trying to use this person's rape as a weapon to hurt trans women, which infuriated me even more. (The details, including names, links and circumstances, are in comments on this post.) I guess when a trans woman is ACTUALLY harmed, well, that is of no real consequence. Why are cis women supposed to take violence against trans women seriously, when the trans women themselves won't do it? Oh wait, did I mention the perp is another trans woman, a popular, charismatic organizer of conventions? Of course she is. And she has the enthusiastic backing of other trans women, so the violence perpetrated against Elle doesn't really count.

It only counts when they say it counts.

Forgive me if I don't take your bullshit seriously, gals.



But even as I argued with people who are (obviously) far more woman than me, I also argued with people who know feminism better than I do. The self-described "Michael Jordan of radical feminism", Nextyearsgirl, announces (regularly) that anyone who is in favor of rights for sex workers is anti-feminist.

This is like saying whoever is pro-unions cannot also be anti-capitalist; it makes no sense.

I asked her (without a single cuss word and totally respectfully) if she realized that for some women, sex work is a step UP the economic ladder? Is working a grueling and horrific 48-hour work week in a textile mill REALLY better than 3 hours of web-cam work, if you make the same amount of money? I had extensive varicose veins surgery for standing on my feet at work for hours, days, weeks, months, years. Why is that supposed to be ethically superior to a couple of hours dancing in the buff or showing one's body parts on a webcam, anonymously? Both are exploitative occupations--is one really more exploitative than the other? And why? I went from scrubbing toilets to dancing wearing pasties (it was against the law to be totally naked in those days, she said, sounding terribly old) and made 3 times the money. Which work do you think was harder? (Are more hours supposedly more holy or something?)

Of course, nextyearsgirl is an upper-middle-class college girl who has been supported by her parents and has never had to make these kinds of choices. She has no children and no worries, and didn't answer a single one of my questions listed in the above-paragraph, which were asked honestly and in the spirit of feminist debate. She simply made fun of me for even asking. Unbelievably, this is a heavy theory-head too, this is no rude adolescent. I am a feminist activist of over 40+ years standing, one of the people responsible for many of the changes she takes utterly for granted. And yet, she told her followers to unfollow me en masse since my mind was "scrambled by drugs decades ago." (about 20 of her followers obediently took her orders and instantly made me persona non grata--she is obviously a very important Tumblr swamp feminist, which should probably not be confused with real feminism. More about which in due course.)

And by the way, did you catch that?

Yes, nextyearsgirl claims to "care" about the sex workers, but then makes fun of a drug addict who quit 32 years ago. I wonder what she thinks of women who are still suffering from addiction? Wait, she told us, didn't she? They are not to be listened to.

Since it is estimated that drug addiction among sex workers is very, very high (figures range from 75-95%), nextyearsgirl makes it very clear she doesn't think sex workers with addiction issues should be listened to. I mean, *I* don't even qualify as worthy of listening to, and I am a 56-year-old grandma/Second Waver, my drug abuse safely 32 years in the past.

I think we know what she must think of drug addicts in the PRESENT, and by extension, what she thinks of sex workers with these problems: NOT TO BE LISTENED TO. BRAINS SCRAMBLED.

These are the "feminists" who purport to care about sex workers. Scratch the surface, and observe the unbridled contempt bubbling to the surface.

Swamp, I say, swamp.



I was also working on a companion piece titled "How fundamentalist Christianity gave birth to Tumblr's Social Justice Activists"--so I could finally explain the whole thing to Tumblr-skeptics like Gregg, but then decided it wasn't worth it.

Besides, I realized I could say it in a paragraph or two, during my many conversations with South Carolina Boy about the entire phenomenon. (He went to a southern Christian college, so he knows this stuff.)

~*~

As Harold Bloom said in The American Religion, there is a heavily-gnostic strain in American Christianity. The Reformation abolished sacraments (for the most part) as arbiters of belief or religious devotion. No intermediaries between Man and God! The result: A Christian was no longer who the Church said it was, a Christian is whoever claims they are one.

This is how we have arrived at the unfortunate point where we have Christians who are pro-global warming and pro-war. Because Christian is whatever they say it is, they are answerable to no one. If some preacher gives them static, they just move on to another one. And if that preacher wants their money/donations, he will not challenge them when they do unChristian things or offer unChristian politics. He will look the other way.

Fundamentalist Christianity owes no one anything, it is entirely internal. "You ask me how I know He Lives/He Lives within my heart!" goes the Protestant hymn. It is about your state of mind. You can now do whatever you want, short of living openly as gay (although many Christians do, and see no contradiction in doing so) and/or being a pimp or dope dealer (ditto). Divorce, carousing, drinking, gambling, porn, all is fine as long as nobody sees you (and sometimes, even if they do). Your politics can defy Jesus' orders to feed the poor and visit the imprisoned; in fact you can spit all over the poor and KILL the imprisoned, and its all okay, just as long as you call yourself a Baptist.

And now we have the same thing with those magic words, SOCIAL JUSTICE ACTIVIST.

People say they are, so... they are. Poof. No work required. In fact, nothing is required, that I can see.

The actual words though? Social justice? What does that mean? And WHERE (pray tell) is this mythical ACTIVISM? Answer: there isn't any. If you want to shut the kids up on Tumblr, just ask what they have actually DONE in real life. (Some of them reply with really offensive crap such as, "That's ableist to ask what we've done!"-- as if disabled people didn't build one of the most successful social justice activist movements of ALL TIME!!!! Yeesh.)

So we now have a collection of "social justice activists" who have no actual experience in activism. None. Zip. And when you refer to the failures and successes of past social justice activism, they have no clue what you are talking about (this is how I figured out they were mostly posturing fakes). This is why we have someone claiming to "care" about sex workers and yet doesn't hesitate to show their class contempt and open derision for drug addicts... no actual experience on the ground. Or she would KNOW who the sex workers are and she wouldn't say something that makes her look like a society-girl dilettante. Michael Jordan, indeed.

And that's how fundamentalism impacts social justice: you think, therefore you are. You are not required to actually do anything, but think the right thoughts. Use the right language and position yourself the right way. Follow the right people on Tumblr. Reblog the right people. But actually get out in the streets and DO anything?

No. They don't know how. They are resoundingly ignorant of even their own streets and neighborhoods. They can't organize the people on Tumblr who already talk exactly like they do and recognize all of their arcane cultural references, so how do they think they will organize people who don't think like they do and don't understand what they are talking about?

Answer: They don't plan to do any such thing. They simply type their deep thoughts and heavy theory on Tumblr, and hopefully, some grunt will do the job. Is that what they expect to happen?

And after thinking about this awhile, that's when I remembered Shelby Steele.



Author Shelby Steele wrote about his experience as a black teacher who opposed Affirmative Action, which he believes actually harms black kids. His proof was that many (most?) black students drop out of college in their 2nd or 3rd year. He felt these students were not fully ready for academic life, since the poor-to-mediocre public schools they came from were not up to par in the first place. Further, he believes their "failure" in college set them back psychologically, made them feel worse than it would have if they had not been given any extra help. This is the old argument about how charity can be harmful, only this time, he was talking about his own kids and his own observations as a college professor. He also wrote about being raised under Jim Crow, and what it was like to attend segregated schools himself.

So what happened?

Well, after Steele started to label himself a conservative, nice liberal white people refused to sit next to him at upscale dinner parties. (Apparently, the irony of this situation was totally lost on the whites, if not on Steele.) His opinions were beyond the pale, you should pardon expression. White liberal students from places like Beverly Hills and Central Park West started screaming at him during speaking engagements. Whites not allowing a black man to speak, now where have I heard THAT before? But its okay, since this is a conservative black man they are policing.

So we have spoiled brats who have been pampered since they were in utero, screaming "Racist!" at a black man who was raised under Jim Crow. An appalling and sordid spectacle, but it describes Tumblr social justice perfectly. I can think of no better illustration.

How does this situation happen, asked Steele, in his book A Dream Deferred: The Second Betrayal of Black Freedom in America. He has facts and figures suggesting that Affirmative Action is an overall negative and he is ready to debate the subject with whomever is willing. Blacks will, he said, but whites won't. Why not?

Steele says that for white people, being in favor of Affirmative Action is not about what is good for black students. They have no idea what is good for black students; they probably don't even know any. For whites, taking the correct liberal position is about LOOKING GOOD TO OTHERS. If you are white, to declare oneself anti-racist is to be A GOOD PERSON. It doesn't mean actually doing anything or thinking about things in depth, it means having the correct opinions and thereby proving you are on the side of the angels. It means posturing. Because if you argue, you might say the wrong thing, you might give yourself away as not having a clue... since you likely don't. Better to pretend you know everything, repeat the popular boilerplate, and shut up.

And so it is now with the Social Justice crowd on Tumblr. It isn't about honest and well-meaning debate, as I tried to discuss things reasonably with nextyearsgirl. It is about HAVING THE CORRECT OPINIONS. It is about LOOKING GOOD and being A GOOD PERSON. If you actually compromise yourself (as I have, as Shelby Steele has) and DO THINGS, well, you leave yourself open to criticism. You also garner some real experience and make observations, as Steele did over a lifetime of teaching African-American students. Disagree with him all you want, but he is the father of black kids and has taught black kids for eons, and was one himself; he knows his stuff. He speaks out of concern for the educational system and how it impacts African Americans in general. Show respect for his process, if you want respect for yours, and MAKE THE ARGUMENTS.

If you can't, he has won, and you should have the good grace to admit it.

~*~



But this is the swamp. Where they dump dead bodies and stuff. Its muddy, the water isn't clear. Strange noises and gurgles. We can expect more of the swamp as long as fakes and frauds contaminate the internet. At least, we can keep the troublemakers confined to their gurgling, oozing swampy spaces. As long as Reddit and Tumblr exist, perhaps it will keep the lunatics away from the rest of us.

Or does it just emit that nasty swamp gas that covers everything with its stench? Ewwww.

~*~



I have to thank the wonderful HBO series, TRUE DETECTIVE, which also inspired my recent swamp fixation. My spouse and I recently binge-watched the whole first season (Matthew McConaughey is a revelation! Who knew he could do that shit?) and it was terrific. After our binge-watching, I even dreamed about swamps... and the next day, my husband announces that he has located a real one. The rest, as they say, is history. We have spent a lot of time there since.

My apologies for a month-long unannounced blog-break. I will try not to let it happen again. But just look at these photos! Wouldn't YOU get distracted by such a beautiful swamp?

*GOOD NEWS: We are back on WOLI radio! Our show (still called "Occupy the Microphone") is on every Monday at 8-9pm, so we are not doing the daily thing at the present time (which simply exhausted everyone trying to come up with appropriate and timely topics). We don't have a podcast up and running yet, since we are still getting our radio-selves together. In addition, Gregg's mother-in-law passed away at home this weekend after a long illness (see this post for more).

Rest in peace, Martha.

Our best wishes are with Gregg, his spouse and children; as well as Martha's caregivers, Krystine and Josh, both beautiful people. (this being a small town, I once worked with Josh elsewhere too.) I can only hope to be able to depend on such gentle, sweet souls when I am old and frail.

Sam Cooke: Having a Party

I am currently watching the wonderful American Masters documentary titled Sam Cooke: Crossing Over (2010).

So much history is still unrecorded about pioneering black artists who "crossed over" into mainstream, radio pop-hit stardom. Cooke was one of the very first, achieving his first hit on the pop charts in 1957, still a very racially-incendiary time. Black artists on the mainstream charts then sounded like Johnny Mathis and Nat King Cole, not like Cooke's bluesy "You Send Me."

When Cooke performed at the Georgia State Fair, police were called in to maintain order because large integrated gatherings routinely attracted attention from racist groups like the kkk. The film clips of enthusiastic, racially-mixed southern audiences, standing up to scream and greet him, suddenly take on new significance when you keep in mind, they likely had to argue with their families for the right to be there.

The party was an act of affirmation.

Cooke's experiences made an emotional impact on him. In 1963, he joined Aretha Franklin in refusing to play for segregated audiences. When he played the Copacabana, the slicked-up patrons had never heard actual R & B before, and hardly knew what to think; they expected Sammy Davis Jr. Variety magazine wrote that Cooke "wasn't ready" for the Copa, when it's obvious it was the Copa audience that wasn't ready for him.

In late 1964, a woman named Bertha Franklin shot Sam Cooke, and nobody has ever been sure why. There is a great deal of controversy over the 'official' account of his death, which changed several times.

He had just become strongly politicized and was playing a greater role in the Civil Rights movement. Singer Etta James and others, wrote that the circumstances of his death were highly suspicious. An understatement.

When I heard "Having a Party"--I almost started to cry, it's just so beautiful.

Fred Phelps attended Bob Jones University; rape-apologist now on BJU board

I initially wanted to title this "A Tale of Two Phelps"--which I think is catchy, but lots of people might not realize WHICH Phelps I am talking about.

Yes, that one.

Bob Jones University is currently pretending that Fred Phelps did not go to their school. Is that FUNNY or what? I can remember when they would have been proud, but demonstrating at the funerals of Elizabeth Edwards and Steve Jobs? Even too embarrassing for BJU!

At left, courtesy of fabulous Camille Lewis (BJU-purge victim), is Fred Phelps' 1948 yearbook photo from Bob Jones University. Although they can try to hide their nasty history, they CAN'T erase old yearbooks owned by students.

~*~

Let's backtrack. When did I first learn about the infamous Bob Jones University Memory Hole?

I distinctly remember driving to work (in the very late 90s or very early OOs) and hearing on local talk radio that Bob Jones IV, BJU heir apparent, had been arrested for drunken driving in "the DC metro area." This would be during his brief stint at Marvin Olasky's influential WORLD magazine, headquartered in DC. I remember cackling in glee [1] and telling several people about it. This fact was also mentioned briefly (one or two lines, at most) in the Greenville News, since I promptly went snooping for it. (I NOW know I should have cut it out and saved it, but I did not yet realize the Memory Hole was in operation.)

At this time, I was borderline Opus Dei myself (saints preserve us) and was in the grip of that Old Time Religion, like really really old. I considered Protestants heretics, and the more Protestant, the more heretical. Since I live in Jesusland (see map HERE), this gave me Major Attitude. I was in the religious minority, and I enjoyed it.

I would compare my self-righteous pseudo-Opus-Dei buzz to the same buzz I got from being a Maoist for a few scant months (nobody lasts long under the Chairman)... it's a feeling of certitude that I often miss, now that I am not certain about so many things. Being existentially certain takes a lot of the hesitation, confusion and fear out of everyday life. Therefore, I totally understand the hypnotic draw of fundamentalism.

Nonetheless, I still hold BJU accountable for the fact that Greenville is just NOW emerging from its status as a cultural backwater (due to international businesses moving into the area). And our cultural-backwater-status can be laid directly at BJU's door.

Greenville County remains (according to Rick Santorum) the most conservative county in the USA. This is because, as I have written before, Bob Jones University-affiliated politicos pack local GOP precinct committee meetings and draw the Republican party to the far right on both social and economic issues. If local Republicans don't genuflect at BJU, they can lose important early-primary support. [2] It is framed as a RELIGIOUS duty (see Dominionism) to pack these meetings, as well as the State party conventions. They can then easily elect each other as delegates to the National party conventions, since they are the ones voting. They were tutored in this process decades ago (remember the Moral Majority?), and they know how it's done. (I wish liberals did, but alas, you CAN'T HERD liberals, one of those truisms that is all too true.)

Short version, we have a very backward area, with lots of nervous people that are reluctant to question BJU. No, let me amend that, SCARED. Its like that LAW AND ORDER episode I saw last night, wherein someone says about the Mafia: Do you know who you are dealing with? Indeed, BJU is the political mafia around here, and their tentacles reach very far. I can't even tell you how many Letters to the Editor I have had censored, and the name of BOB JONES UNIVERSITY edited out. Really. It is verboten to name them, just like the name of G-d.

The argument with the editorial-page-maven always goes like so: "Is it really necessary to name BJU?"

Well, I don't give a rats ass if its necessary or not, that is the LETTER I WROTE and I would like it printed in its entirety.

"But you can make your point without mentioning BJU."

1) No, I can't, since they are the ones running the joint, and 2) Can't you cut the Soviet-style repression and just print it as it is? There are no cuss words and no libelous statements, so just PRINT THE DAMN THING.

Ha. Are you kidding? Dream on, papist!

I finally understood that they were indeed In Charge of the Upstate, when this happened to me several times in succession. The one time I actually got the words Bob Jones University into print (still heavily edited, as all my letters-to-the-editor have been), they allowed a TORRENT of robotic, badly-written Stepford-student responses to it, including one from a self-identified Catholic.

The kicker was when one of my letters-to-the-editor mentioned Bob Jones VI's DUI. This was germane to the topic, which was alcohol sales and the locations of bars in the city limits. BJU had released some predictable Baptist statement about alcohol as the boogeyman and in light of BJ-IV's arrest, I thought that was damned amusing. And I said so.

The editor-maven demanded to know where I got this information... I exhaled in disgust and informed her, HER OWN NEWSPAPER PRINTED IT! She demanded to know when and where, and of course, not realizing this would ever be questioned, I could not provide this information. It was therefore going to be heavily edited, and I said, you know what? Fugedaboutit.

Okay, so I finally got it. As a failed ex-Maoist, I sure did get it: The Memory Hole. Unpleasant historic facts are ERASED by Bob Jones University, which is constantly changing its own history. Oceania has ALWAYS been at war with Eastasia! For example, the fact that their founder, Bob Jones Sr. was pro-KKK, is another little detail they have attempted to erase. (And they certainly don't like it when people celebrate "Founder's Day" by talking about the activities and beliefs of their racist founder, whom they still won't criticize.)

And now, I learn the fascinating (and thoroughly hidden) fact that Fred Phelps is a former student. This makes sense, not simply because he is a crackpot-loony tune (which they specialize in producing over there), but also because when the GLBT Christian group Soulforce came to demonstrate at Bob Jones University (see video in this post), Phelps and his people came to demonstrate against Soulforce AND Bob Jones University, which made no sense to onlookers. Wait, isn't he on their side? Why is he against BJU? Huh?

And now, we understand. Apparently, an old grudge against Dad. (What would Freud say?)

~*~

I first saw the mention of Fred, when another Phelps (apparently no relation, but I wouldn't be surprised if that fact had been carefully deep-sixed too) was appointed to the BJU Board. Many angry tweets informed me that Charles Phelps, a sincere rape apologist, is the Man of the Hour.

And WOW, is he ever.

Some background:

Once upon a time there was 15-year-old Tina Dooley. Tina was babysitting for 39-year-old Ernest Willis, a fellow church member at the Trinity Baptist Church in Concord, New Hampshire. Unfortunately, according to police, Willis was a degenerate who liked to rape teenage girls.

Tina ended up pregnant by her assailant. But instead of turning Willis in — or tuning him up behind the church. Pastor Charles Phelps had a better way to deal with the girl’s rape.

Tina and church members say Phelps forced Tina to stand before the congregation and apologize for the ‘sin’ of getting raped. According to some Tina, Willis (pictured top) offered to send her out of state to get an abortion. He also offered to punch her in the stomach really hard in hopes of inducing a miscarriage, thus saving himself a Planned Parenthood bill.

Pastor Phelps decided that neither of those options were very Biblical. So, Phelps made arrangements to send her to friends from a church Phelps had previously been the youth pastor in Colorado. Apparently, with her mother’s consent, Tina was off to Colorado to have her baby.

Police initially investigated her case, but say the probe went cold when police were unable to locate Tina.

Thirteen years later, Tina (Dooley) Anderson was located living with her husband and 3 children in Arizona.

Willis now admits he had sex with Tina, but says it was consensual. Pastor Phelps claims he reported the assault to the cops back in 1997, but they weren’t interested in pursuing the case, which pretty much sounds like baloney.

This incident was even the subject of an ABC 20/20 show.

And now, Charles Phelps is on the BJU board... they should all get along just fine!

For their part, BJU is claiming Chuck Phelps was on the board before the accusations, which is more bullshit, easily proven this time. [4] (The ex-BJU people, familiar with the Memory Hole, save everything, and God Bless them.)

More information on Bob Jones University's installation of a known rape apologist on their board:

I Support Tina Anderson (contains petition to remove Phelps)

Millstones about the neck (a must-read, to understand the psychological dynamic of the place)

How Pastor Chuck Phelps "Church Disciplined" a 15-Year-Old Pregnant Rape Victim (The well-timed period)

Illegal sexual abuse policy at Bob Jones University (Sharper Iron) [Edit: this is a fundamentalist forum, and at least one person has asked that I post a warning here, notifying readers of this fact.--DD added 10:47pm Nov 4, 2011]

Dear Board: Help Chuck Chuck (contains all the email addresses you need!)

It will be interesting to see how they dig themselves out of the Memory Hole this time. If nothing else, it sends a clear message to Christian parents: It's open season on your sweet, young, virginal daughters at BJU.

Are you sure you want to send them there?


~*~



1) As an alcoholic, I have earned the right to laugh when people get busted for anything related to alcohol consumption. (The first step is admitting you have a problem!) Especially regarding an institution that does not allow its students to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, let alone have AA on campus.

What DO you expect, in that case? Alcoholism is no respecter of persons... and that includes relatives of the founder. Get a clue.

2) It is instructive to read the list of "notable BJU graduates", which includes greedy pension-collector Senator David Thomas, Terry Haskins (former Speaker Pro Tempore, South Carolina House of Representatives), Tim LaHaye (co-author of LEFT BEHIND novel series), Senator Tim Hutchinson, Congresswoman Wendy Nanney, Congressman Sam Rohrer, Walter Fremont (((screams))) and various other conservative busybodies.

Render under Caesar? Not hardly. Do not underestimate their political influence.

Honorary degree recipients include: John Ashcroft, former SC governor David Beasley, Lindsey Graham, Jesse Helms, Lester Maddox, Ian Paisley, Chiang Kai-shek, Strom Thurmond (of course) and George Wallace.

3) Some time ago, I read an emotionally-wrenching account of a covered-up sexual assault at BJU, that I can't find now. Possibly it has been deleted since. I do remember that she was in the Art Department, if that rings any bells.

4) EDIT: Charles Phelps was, and then wasn't, on the BJU board. (He currently is.) The rather suspicious timeline, in which he is on and then off, and then back on the BJU board, is on Camille's blog, with screen-capture evidence. --DD added 8:45pm Nov 4, 2011.

5) EDIT: Fred Phelps has been added to the Wikipedia page of BJU's "notable persons", apparently since last night. ;) That was when I inspected it last, during an internet conversation about Agnes Moorehead, also mentioned. (Although she played a famous witch on TV, her money was good enough for the Jones boys!)

They have decided to cop to Fred Phelps after all, but only after calling him crazy. Oh well, better late than never!--DD added 1:14pm Nov 5, 2011.

Health Care Town Hall Meeting in Travelers Rest, SC

Crossing over to the West side of Greenville County, I worried.

I felt the right-wing southernism slowly creep into my consciousness, as I began to notice the tailgating and became acutely aware of my ANOTHER MAMA FOR OBAMA bumper sticker (which has caused me trouble ever since election day). I tried on my motto, Ain't Skeered (which came into redneck vogue during the No Fear era), but you know, I was skeered. I didn't know what to expect, although I told myself, nobody will be angry at Congressman Bob Inglis, ass-kissing Republican, since he totes water for the gung-ho southern right wing. But I realized I didn't want to see Republican anger, in any form.

I also realized that I would see what I really didn't want to see and have never wanted to face: southern racism in full battle cry.

Nah, Daisy, come on. This is Travelers Rest, South Carolina. The old town slogan was Travelers Rest: On the Way Up since it sits at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and (white) travelers really did rest there before continuing their trek up the mountains. It is known as TR (pronounced Tee Are) by locals. I used to attend the TR AA meeting, held in the Methodist Church, and once considered a core member of that group to be my best friend.

I kept reciting these facts to assure myself that I belonged at this meeting as much as anyone else. I've lived in this county since 1988, I repeated to myself like a mantra. 1988. 1988.

1988, dammit.

Maybe nobody will be there. TR is also known as Gateway to the Blue Ridge Mountains and the suitably-named Gateway Elementary School is way out there, almost in the country. Ain't nobody coming, will be a sleepy little town hall meeting; some homeschooling kids will have been assigned the meeting as homework and have their little spiral-notebooks open, all prepared to learn about Civics and.... I just kept comforting myself.

Turning onto Hawkins Road, I saw the cars, parked waaaaaayyy out--almost to Highway 25. Ohhhh, holy shit. Lots of cars. Cars and more cars. SUVs and more SUVs. They easily overflowed the parking lot of Gateway Elementary, which displayed a sign welcoming Inglis.

I started sweating, a profuse sweat I didn't even have at the local John McCain rally last year. Was it the way they were purposefully and angrily striding into the building? Was it the fact that the crowd looked so Republican? (I know, not supposed to generalize; too bad, this is my blog, people!) Was it the blinding whiteness? I counted 3 black people in the crowd (of nearly 400, guessed one of Inglis' people) and carefully stood next to one. (Was I protecting her or was she protecting me?) I noticed she never clapped for anything they said.

And of course, neither did I.

I found myself flashing back to one of the most terrifying moments of my young Yippie life, the time we infiltrated a large kkk rally in a rural area outside of Middletown, Ohio. It was at a secret location out in the boonies, and we were so proud we had discovered it. So we drove, drove, drove... until we were waaay out in the sticks, dangerously so. I remember one very young Yippie whining, "I can't breathe, man, I can't breathe," and that was even before we saw all the cars. I experienced the same feeling last night in TR, as I had all those years ago at the kkk rally: There are so many more than I thought. We looked at each other in panic and realized, we never expected this many. Should we turn back? Are we identifiable as troublemakers? We realized that NO, we were not, since, haha, we weren't gonna make any trouble, were we? They were noticeably armed, carrying rifles and baseball bats openly and defiantly. As we got out of the van (which suddenly looked as raw-hippie as Ken Kesey's bus), I was so terrified I threw up, and another woman's knees buckled. We looked at each other, embarrassed at our fear; the guys were suddenly stoic, and I remember I wished I'd had some of that, although I usually hated masculine stoicism....

The memory came flooding back. And I hadn't thought about it in ages, even to blog about.

I wondered, should I write about my kkk flashback? Is that relevant to the story? What does it mean that I pull up to Bob Inglis' Gateway Elementary School town hall meeting and suddenly remember a scary backwoods ku klux klan meeting from three decades previous?

The same people, I thought reflexively, only older now?

~*~

There was a line to get in. I saw the Poor Clares from their local monastery and wondered what they were thinking. What would Clare do? I knew what she would do, and I thought maybe I should go stand next to them for some kinda spiritual uplift... but I waited too long, dithering over whether I should go inside... and they disappeared into the throng. A middle-aged man standing near me began talking to his friend about how the government could not manage health care; he had seen this up-close and personal at the Veterans' Administration clinic. He was still waiting for an operation on his eye, he said, and had been for a year.

So, I fumed, this guy gets free health care, and he doesn't want anyone else to have it? Some people won't get an operation no matter how long they wait!

I looked around. A proliferation of OLD PEOPLE, likely on Social Security, with free health care. But they don't want the government to manage it! Then stop taking your Social Security and Medicaid, you FUCKS!

Do they not see the contradiction here? Why don't they?

I held it together and decided I would go inside. I realized that in a group, I was always pretty brave, but by myself? Ha. Not hardly.

Inglis' flunkies handed me a sheet of paper announcing Bob Inglis' 16 reasons to oppose Obama care. These "reasons" were also prominently displayed on a poster up front, where Inglis, dressed like a mellow golfer dude for the evening, announced he was here to listen to whatever people had to say.

A few of these 16 reasons (lies), that jumped right out at me:

Could allow taxpayer-funded abortions.

Ignores medical liability reform.

Provides little incentive for quality outcomes.

Lacks focus on individual responsibility or choice.

Kills jobs by making them more costly.

And then, I flipped the printed sheet over, and read about Bob Inglis' stellar "ratings" from various conservative groups:

National Right to Life - 100%

Americans for Tax Reform - 75%

Chamber of Commerce (listed as a conservative group!) - 80%

Americans for Prosperity - 86%

National Rifle Association - A

English First - A

American Conservative Union - 84%

Christian Coalition - 100%

And I saved the best for last:

JOHN BIRCH SOCIETY - 62%

The John Birch Society? He is proud of a rating from the crackpot John Birch Society? Again, the kkk flashback, "I can't breathe, man," and I almost hightailed it out of Gateway Elementary at that point.

No, Daisy, take pictures. You have a blog.

Staring at the printed sheet of GOP fibs, I suddenly got why they prefer the term "Obamacare"--because that is who they are really upset with. (I had seen tons of "Nobama" bumper stickers on my way in.)

The meeting started, with red meat thrown to the crowd at regular intervals. Quiet and well-behaved, they erupted loudly and cheered on cue when anyone criticized the government or Obama. It was basically a rehash of the Nuremberg Rally I had seen on C-Span over the weekend, the RightOnline Conference in Pittsburgh. But this was different--there was an undercurrent of menace. There was an undercurrent of fury. Nobody was smiling, and this is the south, where smiling is practically mandatory.

Standing Room Only.... as you can see from this photo, a lot of older people in attendance, who presumably already have their health care paid for.

There were no 'questions' to speak of... just older white men who already have health care (((fumes))) holding forth and spouting off in the manner you have all grown accustomed to on Fox News. Blah blah blah, we don't want government-run health care! (((cheers, huzzahs, whistles, yeahs!))) Inglis stood there holding the microphone like a mannequin and said maybe two sentences that I heard. He looked properly concerned, though, which I suppose is all he is required to do at these events.

As one fella stood up to bloviate at considerable decibels that fascism is coming to America (tell me about it!) because they are trying to shut down talk radio (we can only hope), I saw two older white women my age, weaving through the crowd and looking pissed. They exited the building in obvious disgust and I weaved through the crowd to run after them, "Hey, you girls!"

We attempted to chat, but we mostly just stood there speechless and shaking our heads at each other. "We don't belong in there," one said. I agreed with the sentiment. She told me another meeting was happening in Spartanburg, a PRO health care meeting.

Spartanburg. And then, another realization hit me:

Spartanburg is heavily black.

The upstate has re-segregated itself into Greenville (run by whites, although a large black population) and Spartanburg (run by blacks, although a large white population) Counties. Why were there so few blacks at this meeting? They need health care, too, okay? But if I was scared to go in, I assume they would be, too. In fact, no doubt: If I were black, I'd stay far away.

Tell me, is this DEMOCRACY in action, Congressman Inglis? Are you the representative of the white upstate or ALL the upstate?

One of the women pointed back at the entrance to Gateway, and told me authoritatively, "You know, this is all really about integration. That's really what it is. Always has been."

Yes, I know.

David Duke busted in Czech Republic

As promised, part of Daisy's radical history! At left, video capture from the History Channel, in which I look like a fabulous 19-year-old and scream at the ku klux klan. See video below for the whole sequence, which got me a subpoena for the ensuing riot (since as you can see, I was standing about 10 feet from the action). During said riot, the intrepid Progressive Labor Party distinguished itself by pounding the Ohio Imperial Wizard (his name escapes me) into a lil greasy spot. (Of course, at the time, my memory failed me and I couldn't rightly remember who did it! Funny how that happens! :P )

This event occurred at the Ohio Statehouse, Labor Day, 1977. I chose it to go with the news of David Duke's bust (he also figures prominently in the video below).

~*~

David Duke reportedly arrested in Czech Republic
Southern Poverty Law Center/Hatewatch
by David Holthouse, April 24, 2009

Czech Republic media outlets are reporting that infamous U.S. white supremacist leader David Duke was arrested in Prague earlier today on suspicion of denying the Holocaust and promoting the neo-Nazi movement, crimes punishable by up to three years in prison in the Czech Republic.

According to a Prague newspaper, Duke was taken into custody at the Black Eagle, a Prague restaurant, shortly after arriving in the country at the invitation of Czech neo-Nazis. The newspaper reported that 30 law enforcement officers wearing ski masks surrounded Duke, who was scheduled to deliver lectures in Prague and Brno. A third lecture scheduled at Prague’s Charles University was called off earlier this week because the university banned it.

According to an Internet post by the Czech Republic neo-Nazi group National Resistance, Duke was in Czech Republic to promote his book My Awakening.

“Mr. Duke was arrested after previous approval [from the] state deputy for suspicion for committing the crime of supporting and promoting movements which are trying to suppress human rights and freedoms,” read a translated statement from Prague police spokesperson Jan Mikulovsky.

News of Duke’s reported arrest spread rapidly throughout the right-wing extremist online community. A “Free David Duke” discussion thread on Stormfront, a major white nationalist discussion forum, was fast-approaching 300 posts at 5 p.m. EST.

Discussion at Vanguard News Network was equally intense. “Though in the past I have disagreed with David Duke as being too moderate, I must say that this arrest is outrageous and must be protested, vigorously,” wrote EireanGoddess. “Damn the jews.”

David Duke too moderate? Saints preserve us.

~*~

The Ohio Statehouse-riot described above is in this video (jump to 3:18-40), which as I recall, was a law enforcement video. The show is a three-hour documentary titled The Ku Klux Klan, A Secret History.

Warning: violence, very disturbing...but Duke makes his appearance here as the face of the "new klan"--the klan's much-heralded 70s makeover. If not for Duke, I am confident the kkk would have died out completely.