Today, Women's Magazine on KPFA put together a fabulous show on the election around race and gender issues. It is worth a listen. My favorite interview is with Elaine Brown, the last on the show. Elaine Brown is someone I have long admired for her work for social change, and this interview reinforced my admiration. When asked about the campaigns of Hillary and Obama and the issue of race and gender, she responded by saying there aren't any issues of race and gender being discussed, and neither candidate actually represents, or is looking out for, the interests of women or black people. Both of them are "ordinary democrats white washing" these issues. Exactly. She is right on with everything she says. Who should we vote for? That's a conundrum she says. Whether we vote or not at this point, does it make a real difference where we are at right now? I'm going to vote tomorrow, but I'm sure most would say that I am wasting my vote because I am going to vote for who I actually think would make a good president, not who I think will be more popular against the opposing side. It seems like everyone is placing bets rather then voting these days.

Please listen: http://www.kpfa.org/archives/index.php?arch=24639

Here’s something definitely worth reading.

In his piece entitled “Stimulus Deal: The Bane of Bipartisanship” Robert Borosage says everything I’ve been thinking about the so-called economic fix that our government has been cooking up. Turns out they did exactly what I expected and skipped over what actually gets an economy revved up, like providing jobs and services to the people who are actually going to put the money they make or save back into the engine and keep things moving (think Roosevelt’s New Deal). Instead, it’s the same old big business handouts: tax breaks that are supposedly going to save us from downfall, but aren’t really going to change how business is being done. Of course there’s the let them eat cake gesture of a tax refund for some of the rest of us. That extra grand might keep a few families from being too hungry, but I don’t see how it’s going to encourage anyone to go out and spend big bucks freely. Borosage’s best line is his opening one, “Barbara Ehrenreich memorably called the talk about the stimulus ‘clitoral economics.’ And that was before we got screwed.” What else can really be said? By the way, if you are surprised by this economic package please let me know. If you think it’s a great idea, please don’t bother me.

Well this year is off to a great start: economic recession, continued war, gas prices still high, more ridiculousness on the campaign trail, and I’m sure there is something I am forgetting.

When I started hearing about the recession a couple of weeks ago, it sounded like it was somehow a big surprise to everyone. I guess they all believed Bush when he told us everything was fine. But I think the signs have been there all along. How do you suddenly go from the economy is great to “quick, bring out the lifeboats.” The fact that the US dollar has declined in value for the last couple of years, or the collapse of the mortgage market back in the fall weren’t clues enough. I hope whatever stimulus they decide on works out, though I always thought war was a sure fire way to jump-start an economy. That just shows what I know.

On the bright side Tom Ridge has declared that waterboarding is torture, which is a great relief for those of us who were unsure. All I have to say is I’m looking forward to whatever else this year has to offer, as long I don’t have to choose between a right wing Christian nutcase or a fluffer for president.

A beef with telecommunications...

About a month ago, I read about AT&T’s indiscretions in sharing customer information. I meant to write something about it at the time, but somehow did not get around to it. It’s been simmering in the back of my mind ever since then. Today, when I finally did get around to sitting down and writing my thoughts on this subject, I could hardly find mention of it. When I type in AT&T into the Google news search I come up with a million stories about the death of the payphone. I guess that is also troubling if you are, like thousands of homeless people, without alternative means of communication. It’s one of those things that will hit a middle class person some day when they need to call 911 and their cell phone is dead in the middle of the night when all the businesses are closed, no one is around and there’s not a payphone in sight.

In the mean time, I am highly disturbed by the obscurity of this other AT&T story. It is there if you dig. But this should have caused a much greater stir. AT&T made a deal with the devil, or maybe it was just two devils making a deal together. It turns out that the communications company was, possibly still is, collecting customer data, including phone conversations and emails, for the NSA. They were apparently ordered by President Bush to conduct this spying program, but they forgot to take a look at the Constitution, you know, the part about “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” According to a whistle blower, the NSA had a secret room at the San Francisco offices of AT&T, into which went all Internet traffic. I was never shown a warrant for them to have my communications, were you? And I certainly do not feel secure in my person. This has been going on for sometime. To be honest I am not all that surprised, but why didn’t I hear about it a little sooner. This should be front-page news, along with all the other violations of our constitutional rights this administration has perpetrated. This is surely a sign of what we are in store for in the near future: totalitarian society, in which people are either oblivious, or in denial of that fact. Maybe we are already there.

I should also probably mention my bias with regards to this story. I live in the Bay Area and I am an AT&T customer. I am pissed off at AT&T for betraying my trust, but I am also pissed off that I don’t really have much of a choice when it comes to finding another provider. Effectively AT&T has a monopoly in my neighborhood. When I was shopping around for phone and Internet service, I was repeatedly told, “We don’t carry service in your area.” Only AT&T could connect to my apartment. Well that’s not entirely true. If I made twice as much a year, I might be able to afford Comcast’s service. But essentially I’m being screwed and don’t have much say in the matter. (There’s that voice in the back of my head again saying: You could move out into the middle of nowhere in the mountains and cut contact with the rest of the world.)

Articles to check out regarding AT&T spying issue:
“Definition Changing for People's Privacy.”

“Big Bro chokes on own surveillance data.”

“Judge: Feds Must Release Telecom Records”

“Ex-Worker at AT&T Fights Immunity Bill”

News Encounters

“Skivies are the new civic duty”? So says NBC11’s Nightly News anchor, Brian Williams. Apparently the TSA wants to tell us how to pack our bags…neatly: clothing folded, electronics’ wires coiled and everything placed in our suitcases in specific layers. While I personally strive to pack my luggage in a way that is organized for easy use and increased economy of space, I will figure out which way that is myself, thank you very much. They always mess things up when they dig through our bags anyway. Things are getting increasingly bizarre, beyond any of the dystopian literature that is frequently cited as the inspiration for current events.

I don’t usually watch Nightly News but I left the TV on after the local news. The story that I was really interested and sad to hear was about the death of Mehdi Shahbazi. His is the story of a man doing the best to fight for what he believed. He passed away last week after a hunger strike against the greed, manipulation and abuse of large oil companies. He was the owner of a small gas station who decided that what the oil companies were doing was wrong. When he tried to do something about it by putting posters of his beliefs up in his gas station, Shell managed to shut him down. Left without his business, he did what he could to continue to try to make his point. You don’t hear about someone having that kind of heart everyday. It seems like someone important was lost before anyone realized he was important.

I also noticed while perusing the NBC11 website to verify what I heard, that they have a wide variety of links, including, under a section titled Bay Area Iraq Links, MoveOn.org. I have to give props to NBC11 for encouraging website visitors to check out multiple points of view. And they seem to be pretty strong on local news and events. I have to say their entertainment news section may be a little too big, but at least I don’t have to hear about it on their televised evening news. I don’t think much of their parent network, but, all in all, I think I will add their site to the list of news sites I regularly scan.

This is worth checking out.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/7069943.stm

I’ve just returned from an interesting movie going experience. Lions for Lambs is a movie to think about. I’m still not sure exactly what I think about it, it may take a day or two, but I am inclined to think that might exactly be the point. I went into the theater not sure what I was about to see, the previews are entirely ambiguous, but so is this film. It’s making a point but does not come straight out with it. A not so favorable review (the first one I read) by Carina Chocano, of the LA Times, says the movie would like us to understand the complicity of everyone in the disastrous Iraq/Afghanistan war. This is definitely part of it. Though whether this is a good thing or a bad thing is vague. I personally hope this complicity in bringing about war is seen as an undesirable thing. My understanding of Robert Redford’s politic leanings makes me think this is probably his slant, though large amounts of screen time were given to other points of view. I also think Chocano is right in saying this movie is more suited to a stage then a screen. The acting was good and the dialogue between Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise was very engaging. I may or may not get back to you with more interpretations of this film depending on whether or not I actually give it more thought. Though, I hope other people who see it do give it more thought.

I broke my goal of writing a blog a week, but never fear I will someday succeed. It is the third anniversary of my brother's death. I don't have anything particular to say about this event that I would care to share with the general public, except that today my thoughts have been filled with questions about life and death. Is death necessary? Is life precious? Is it even worth wondering about?

Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. -Martin Luther King, Jr.

The week before last I was visiting friends when I saw upon their table a newspaper opened to an editorial entitled "Harry Potter an allegory for war on terror?" As a fan of the Harry Potter series I was intrigued. It starts out like a lot of reviews of both the books and the movies. Why are they so popular, and isn’t it interesting how things keep getting darker and more serious as the series continues? Then begins the comparison to times past, namely the Second World War, comparing Fudge to Chamberlain, who turned a blind eye to the ultimate harm that Hitler could generate. True, I can see comparisons there, Voldemort set on destroying anyone he does not see as pure blood, just as Hitler tried to purify his race. Intolerance and lack of respect and caring for other human beings does seem to be a standard theme, and togetherness, compassion and understanding are the lessons to be learned. Harry can only succeed in his quest by possessing these qualities. But then Mr. Pinkerton, author of the essay, steps into the realm of absurdity, and I couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it. He says that Harry Potter is about stopping the Muslims. He does not say it is about stopping intolerance and violence between those who think differently then each other. No, it’s about the Muslims, which to me seems short sighted and lacks the sense of compassion and understanding that Harry must gain to reach his goal. The debate about terrorism is a real one and needs to be considered seriously, but it becomes ridiculous when compared to the Harry Potter books.

"But what's not possible to dispute is that we are in a war now. There are people around the world who are waking up every morning determined to kill us. Some are undoubtedly already here in America. And that's the reason, of course, so many of us were opposed to McCain's ill-fated immigration bill; if we are in a death-struggle against unknown enemies, we need to close the borders immediately - not waiting for a "comprehensive" approach pleasing to those who still strangely hanker for unrestricted transit across frontiers.”


What does this statement really have to do with Harry Potter? I do not think J.K. Rowling’s intention was to create appeal for intense patriotism. No, I think her intention was quite the opposite. Isn’t the shutting down of borders, restricting citizenship, and creating an atmosphere of devotion to “US” Voldemort’s goal?

“When kids see "Harry Potter," they should be thinking first about defending their country, and their civilization, against evildoers wielding weapons of mass destruction. After that's taken care of, they can then worry more about carbon dioxide.”

When children’s literature is suggested as propaganda to incite children to actually take up arms (the character’s in Harry Potter take up wands, but they are of age when this actually happens, before then they are protected, and discourage from using their magic for anything of the sort, and it’s fiction) in all seriousness and we are expected to not see the scary parallels of this proposition in the past, that is ridiculous. I wonder what Rowling would say to Pinkerton’s interpretation of her work? The jab at environmentalism is just icing on the cake.

A blog a week.

That’s the plan. Feel free to bug me if I slack. That’s all I’ve got for the moment. I promise something better next week.

Environmentalism and class...

An issue that has always irked me is the tendency of Americans to equate the ability to consume with citizenship. It is common to hear the idea “your dollar is your vote” bandied about. Constantly, pundits on the news say, “the market place has decided.” There are two major problems I have with this development. First, the consumer is not necessarily a rational being, but a citizen should be. People are moved to consume by a myriad of subconscious emotional reasons, beyond the urge to fulfill basic human needs. Marketing and advertising campaigns are designed to manipulate this fact. They play on our need to be accepted by others and promise us the keys to a nebulous happiness, none of it based solely on fact or appealing to the rational mind. To use a classic example, you know that that new SUV or convertible isn’t going to make up for your inadequacies, but, deep down, you get this feeling that somehow it will make you feel better about them. Does it?

Secondly, putting the vote to the market place also removes power from those who do not have the economic ability to consume or least lack the ability to consume with discretion. If you are on a tight budget with a couple of other mouths to feed, you probably aren’t going to buy the more expensive healthier organic food. You are probably going to buy whatever will allow you to feed the most mouths for the least amount of money, or what is quick and easy and inexpensive to make, if you are working two jobs and don’t have time to cook. The large food manufacturers can continue to make and sell food that is bad for you because they know this segment of the population will continue to buy it. The market place has voted for this food. But the choice implied by the word vote, is not one that many of these people feel they have. (I’m sure many of you will say that they do have a choice, but remember that the consumer is not rational, and consumption in this system is based on “feeling.”) In a sense, this point makes the “consumer as citizen” system an inherently classist system.

People without monetary means to consume with discretion lose their ability to participate equally in the system, to decide what should and should not be bought and sold, and who should be doing it. This is not a little thing. Our country’s production and consumption patterns have an enormous effect on economy, national and international, which, in turn, can determine a country’s accountability for human rights. (I am thinking of China here. Would they be able to get away with such blatant human rights violations if they did not have such a strong economy?) Perhaps more importantly, production and consumption has had a devastating effect on our environment. The waste and excess use of non-renewable resources, the pollution constantly released from the factories of large manufacturers, the toxin by-products that come with many day-to-day items, these not only effect our environment, but our health. But companies participating in these environmental violations can continue with indiscretion, because they know that people will continue to buy their products and give them money, money which allows them to deal with that pesky, ineffective government, to continue with these practices which harm that segment of the population which continues to support them and whose health they don’t really care about.

Ideally, as our forefathers conceived it, our citizenry would each have one vote, regardless of monetary status, to put in place a government to look out for our best interests. With the market place as our pseudo-government, one dollar equals one vote, and the market place has no interests in looking out for our best interests, only its own.

I read an interesting article last month, which I thought effectively made a good point about consumerism and classism. Entitled “Schwarzenegger: The Fake Environmental Hero,” this article essentially says that the ability to be environmentally friendly is a choice given to those with money, specifically dealing with the automobile. The eco-friendly, fuel-efficient vehicles are currently out of the price range of a large portion of the population. “Schwarzenegger has become the GOP's Al Gore but the trouble is that his "environmentalism" isn't about curbing our reckless consumption; it's about having more cool choices -- if you can afford them.” This tag line says it all. Environmentalism is a consumption choice. Consumption itself is not to be stop, because its how we choose who’s going to have the power.

There are many ways to be environmentally friendly, especially without cost, and there have been many instances when public outcry has caused the government to change policy. There have also been instances of consumers using their consumer power to band together to get companies to change their practices. Don’t worry we are not completely lost yet. I am worried, however, that the trend that I’ve talked about above is the norm and the instances of consumers consciously using their power is more of an exception to the rules. More than that I am worried that we will completely lose the idea of the citizen completely to the idea of the consumer-citizen. Everyone should be able to have an equal vote and should be able to count on our political system to look out for us. This should include our solitary brethren, living off the grid in the woods, our low-income families doing the best they can with little, as well as the more well to do among us. Our buying practices should be separated from our government, just like religion should be.

A battle won...

Oh, so many horrible things happening in the world, but here's a good one. My friend recently informed me that class action lawsuit, in which she was a plaintiff, for those arrested during the WTO protests in Seattle in '99 has finally come to a happy conclusion. PublicJustice.net has the full story. Those arrested claimed wrongful arrest and the court ruled in their favor, saying that the arrests violated the protesters' Fourth Amendment rights. According to my friend, the city has settled for $1 million and will also restructure its police training program to appropriately deal, meaning no blanket arrests, with protest situations. This news gives me hope that the constitution is not yet dead and that we do still have some rights. I also hope this news will encourage other cities to look at their police tactics during similar situations and question whether they too are in violation of our fourth amendment. I applaud those who continue to speak their minds , and protest against what they see as wrongful doings, making use of those rights we are told our forefathers fought and died for. This takes extra courage when those rights are under constant assault. It's uplifting to know that they haven't been completely lost yet. Thank you to the Seattle District Court for upholding the Constitution, when it seems the trend in US justice is to do otherwise.

In today's news...

Once again I took my time getting around to posting anything. In the meantime, the socio-political world continues on its route to chaos, while the Earth itself seems to be maintaining a pretty steady course around the sun. In the sphere of juvenile incarceration, children want out, but wonder if they will be shot when they return home. And common sense care for them seems to be an illusive dream. Friends keep asking me what I think of Obama in '08 and I have no answer, only that I have no faith in electoral politics. Sure, I'll vote, but that doesn't mean I think it counts for anything. Anna Nicole's death was finally determined to actually be a legal drug overdose. That's the top news as far as I can tell. While the continued struggle of impoverished people, with no access to prescription pharmaceuticals to begin with, hardly ever makes into the periphery of news consciousness. Gonzales seems to be in hot water now, but what about the people pulling his strings? And why am I paying $3.20 for a gallon of gas? Wasn’t I once promised the prices weren’t going to go up? I’ll have to try harder to limit my car trips to only the necessary, which is better for the environment. I wish I could afford one of those fancy hybrids. I guess my mobility is limited by my economic status. As always a bigger paycheck means more freedom.

Remembering Molly Ivins…

On discovering yesterday morning that Molly Ivins had passed away the previous day, I felt a pang of great loss and defeat. Always one of my favorite reads, her columns were not only entertaining but made sense. Ivins put into words what I think most of us know in the back of our consciousness somewhere. And she was unabashed in her social critique, a quality that I much admire. In a column she wrote shortly after last November’s election, she describes herself best to be a populist, interested in the people:

"Now, from my hours spent battered and half brain-dead listening to the fatuous, self-important commentators of our nation, I learn that the people did not elect liberals to Congress last week. Nope, they elected populists! Well, gosh all hemlock. Populist! I am one.

Who knew? I thought all said I was chopped liver. Populist. Like Tom Frank of What's the Matter With Kansas? fame. Jim Hightower. We can even draw our lines of political genealogy -- via Ralph Yarborough and Bob Elkhart.

A populist is pretty much for the people and generally in this case exactly the same as a liberal -- we just put the em-pha-sis on a different syl-la-ble. We also tend to be more fun. We do not vote to hurt average Americans, even if the corporate payoff is really big. Even if it's just a little bit -- like the bankruptcy bill.

We tend to focus less on social issues and more on who's gettin' taken and who's doin' the taking. In my opinion, Americans are not getting taken by the Republican Party. They are getting taken by Large Corporations that bought and own the Republican Party."

Yes, I think Molly Ivins was the true definition of a populist. I am saddened that there is one less out there to care about what happens to the rest of us and speak out. Please read her work, it is an important part of the American lexicon.

Not really a fan of post-modernism but...

Found this poetic interpretation of the work of Deleuze and Guattari in one of my old college journals today. I thought it was slightly entertaining, enough so to share:

The Stratification of a Thousand Oedipi

Stratification is the verification
of the inscription
transcription
description
of the body with out organs
the body that is free flowing
free growing
free of all
It is the machines that
make order, reorder
record order and
territorialize
And the body with out organs
finds these masochistic pleasures
slowing, thickening
imprisoning, locking
habitualizing
separating and sensualizing
It pulls away
but it is addicted
to a lobster with a stenograph machine
a lobster as a stenograph machine
reading, being read
articulating and interpreting
pontificating?
compressing, being compressed
first, last and all becoming sedimentized
imposed upon, selected from
order, statistics
unstable molasses flows
folded upon folds
structure, function
cementation?
total, hierarchical, final
Simultaneously coded and defined
interpreted in language
formed, molded, placed
territory-wise
Good, bad, needed? polysignified
dichotomized, polarized relations
of segments
of strata
of substrata
of interstrata
of strata articulations
There is unity
then diversity
then division
in the process of stratification
but is it a process
or is it an end?

Keeping my hand in...

As part of the life reconsideration that happens every year about this time, I am determined to write more than the occasional every third month. I know that I am starting a little late off the block the traditional date for resolutions is the first, but the 13th isn't that bad. Okay, now it's the 23rd. That is bad. I have nothing spectacular to write about at the moment. There have been a few issues floating around in my head for a few months. Just a few random questions. If you, people who might possibly be reading this, have answers please let me know.

1. Does Truth need a market to viable? Do the ratings, sales, etc. need to be high for the truth to make it into the mainstream of mediated knowledge?

2. Do people still truly believe in the American dream, the Horatio Alger’s myth, you to can have roads paved with gold if only you work hard enough? People do occasionally pull themselves up by the proverbial bootstraps, but is this the exception rather than the rule? The 'system' is set against so many people, hoping to guarantee their failure to fill our prison and fill up the ranks of our military. And the idea of capitalism, in its current incarnation, strives to let those organizations with the most pariah-like behavior get ahead of the rest. Here's another related to question: Can one succeed in life, according to the American Dream version of success, with out falling prey to the ideology and values of this system, can one succeed and not sell out? Would someone with out the same values exalted by this system truly want to succeed in the way in which we are told we should by the society around us?

3. If a train traveling from Chicago leaves at 8:30 AM traveling at a consistent speed of 65mph, and another train leaves New York City at 9:45 AM traveling at a consistent speed of 70mph, at what time will they mysteriously be zapped out of existence by an alien race from three galaxies over?

That's all.

Heartbreak…

I know the story with these guys, that’s why I do what I do, to somehow make it better. But some days I just wonder if there is any way at all to make a difference. Empowerment is the buzzword of the day, but it’s a complicated word. Doing empowerment work, empowering others, is nearly impossible. You can’t make someone else empowered; you can’t force empowerment on anyone, because, then, is it really empowerment? No, people have to choose to be empowered and do it for themselves. You can only provide opportunity and tools. But when you are providing opportunity and tools and no one wants to make use of them it can be awfully depressing. The boys that I work with are more often than not hopeless, not meaning that nothing can be done with them, but meaning they have no hope for themselves. I’ve known this all along. I know that the odds are against them. I know that they know it. But to hear and talk to them about it, and to fully realize how caught up in that reality they are, is heartbreaking. Today, somehow, I got into a conversation with a couple my students about how they don’t expect to live past twenty-five and how they can never envision a life without violence. One student said that seeing blood and someone else on the floor made him happy because he knew it wasn’t him. The other student, waxing philosophical, explained how the system was against him to the point where it would be useless to get out, and if he’s going to be part of that world and die young anyway, he might as well go out with a bang. It’s unfortunate to note that I actually agreed with a lot he said. Not the part about needing to go out with a bang, but about the system. He already, at 18, has been tried as an adult and received a felony charge, one strike, as he put it. With that strike it makes it difficult for him to get a job or to be accepted in another part of society. And when I mentioned trying to move away from the city, he said that he would never have the money to do that. His attitude was completely self-defeating, with reason. And with that self-defeating attitude he probably won’t ever take advantage of the tools and opportunities we are trying to provide for him. He said he was just thinking realistically, he doesn’t want to have expectations and plans for the future and then be disappointed. But I think the truth of the situation is that this particular student, being intelligent, could probably do something to get out except for the fact that he doesn’t believe that it’s possible. Violence, death, and drugs are a part of their “culture” they say, and to survive in their neighborhoods they see the need to embrace that culture, which only perpetuates those behaviors. So I had one of those days, wondering if I could ever actually make any difference for these guys, wondering if there was anyway to really help them out. Seeing them in a locked down, secure environment I get to see them with out their tough street personas. Of course, they are still trying to look cool for each other, as adolescent nature dictates, but their childlike selves become more apparent. After all, they really are just children. Some of them can be very gentle in nature, but they are forced to be aggressive for self-preservation. They have great senses of humor, they are creative, and talented, and some off them can often be very considerate. I really care about them all a great deal. Maybe that’s my mistake; maybe I will be forever heartbroken. More often than not the pattern is that they will return to the street and the culture of violence and either end up back in the prison system or dead within a fairly short amount of time. I want to help them. I would love for them to be empowered, get control of their lives and end up doing what they want to do. But all I can do is to be there to provide opportunity and tools.

Flying the friendly skies…

Now that I am no longer foaming so much at the mouth. I would like to share an interesting experience I had a couple of weekends ago. This is an extraordinary tale of the abuse of power, lies, and just plain rudeness. It begins with a visit from my mother and my 3 almost 4 year old nephew. We had a fabulous time. When the day of departure arrived, things started off well. We went to Thai brunch at the Thai temple, and went on a short shopping expedition before heading home to finishing packing bags and load the car. Their plane was set to depart at 4pm, which meant I had to get my mother and nephew to the airport by 3 at the latest, 2:30 preferably. All went well. We made it to the airport in good time. I helped them carry the luggage in to the counter and saw them off at the security checkpoint. Then I headed home.

About half an hour after getting home I receive a frantic call from my father. He was talking to my mother on her cell phone when all of a sudden she hung up. He thought she said, but wasn't sure, that she was being arrested right before she hung up. I call my mother and get a hold of her. All that I can get out of her is that she and my nephew were thrown off the plane and standing at the ticket counter. I immediately jump back in my car and head back to the airport.

Here is my mother’s tale of what happened:

“On September 24, 2006, Thor and I went to the Oakland Airport to return to Missoula. Dora stayed with us until we got to the security check-in. As we entered, a tiny woman looked at our boarding passes and my driver’s license. She then looked at Thor’s boarding pass and said to me, “What kind name he got? Why he no got American name?” in heavily accented English. I looked at her nametag, which held a difficult Asian name and said, “He has an American name, he is American.” She then got in Thor’s face and yelled, “What you name, boy? Tell me you name.” several times while Thor kept saying “Thor.”

After we got through the security checkpoint, I called my husband and complained about someone who could barely speak English and had a difficult name saying that Thor’s name wasn’t American. I told him I thought TSA should hire people that speak English and reminded him that many of the TSA people we have dealt with in the Bay Area are not American. Which seems silly to me: who cares more about American security, Americans or non-Americans?

We waited at the gate until it was time to check in. As we handed in our boarding passes, the male gate agent looked at the car seat I was carrying and said, “Are you going to sit in that?”

“No,” I said, “he is.” And the guy laughed. I had checked with the ticket people in Missoula when we flew down and they had said no problem about the car seat. So Thor flew down in his car seat. It was comfortable for him and sat him high enough that he could see out the window. I also checked on each flight and, with the seat arms down, it was solid, didn’t move.

When we got on the plane, Thor was ahead of me. The stewardess asked me to let her check the seat so I handed it to her. Thor sat in an empty seat to wait for me. The label on the seat was worn and she couldn’t read it. She said she would need to check with someone. I told her that we’d used it flying down. She said she still wanted to check and that I was welcome to go to my seat. I said I didn’t mind waiting.

I waited quietly at the front of the plane until almost everyone was on. A couple times, I said I didn’t understand why it was OK flying down but not back. The stewardess just said she needed to check with someone. When the plane was about _ full, she asked me to go to my seat so I got Thor and went back to our seats. When everyone was on, she came and told me we couldn’t use the seat, that it had to be gate checked. I said OK, then added, “Please be careful with it, tape up the straps, we going to need it when we get there and I would want you to be responsible for it being broken.” The stewardess took it out of the plane.

At that point, Thor started crying and saying he wanted his car seat so he could be safe. I told him I wanted it, too, but we had to do what the lady said. He continued to cry quietly. The stewardess came back and said, “Is there a problem here?”

I was hoping she could reassure him so I said to Thor, “Tell what the problem is, sweetie.”

Thor said, “I want my car seat.”

The stewardess said, “Well, I, unlike your mother, care about your safety” in a really insulting voice.

I didn’t want Thor to hear that from a stranger so I said, “Don’t listen to that, she’s full of it.”

The stewardess then left and another woman, Habiba, came and said, “Could you step off the plane?”

I followed her down the aisle and off the plane and she said something to the effect that I wasn’t going to be allowed on this flight, that they would get me on the next flight.

I asked why, what had I done? And who would take care of Thor on the plane?

She said she didn’t know what I had done, that the stewardess just didn’t want me on the plane. I said I didn’t understand, that I had not raised my voice or sworn (I had been careful not to do either of those). She said that they would get me on a later flight and that I should get my things and Thor.

I went back down the aisle to Thor. The stewardess was standing next to him talking. I don’t know what she was telling him. I got him and our stuff. Then I looked at her smiling meanly at me and said, “You bitch, you enjoy doing this, don’t you?”

On the way off the plane, I got the car seat that was just sitting in the hallway. I also asked Habiba and the male gate attendant over and over what I had done. No one would tell me. Finally, when I got out to the gate, I started to cry and hyperventilate. I was so upset and no one would tell me anything. They told me that if I didn’t stop crying, they would have me arrested. They also wanted to know what my bags looked like so they could get them off the plane. I told them but they wanted more details. I said I was so upset, I could hardly think, let alone describe my luggage more clearly.

Then they said that they would get me on a plane the next day, not later the same day. At that point, I called my husband and told him that I had been thrown off the plane. I said that the whole day had been a mess, that that lady (meaning the TSA one) who probably wasn’t even American had been rude to us. At that point, Habiba said, “OK, that’s it, I’m calling security and having you arrested.”

I hung up and said, “What? What did I do now?”

She said, “You are saying that I am not American.”

I said, “I was talking to my husband, not to you. I was talking about the TSA lady. You’re just an eavesdropper and you have no idea what I am talking about. Eavesdroppers often jump to the wrong conclusion.”

Habiba said, “What are you calling me? What is an eavesdropper?”

“An eavesdropper is someone who listens in on someone else’s conversations. It’s considered rude.”

At that point, Habiba started yelling and calling me names to the point that Thor stopped crying and came and stood in front of me and said to her, “Be nice. You be nice to my nana!”

She finally calmed down and the male gate attendant returned from wherever he’d been. He said I’d been thrown off the plane for refusing to gate check the car seat, an obvious lie. I asked about getting on the next plane. They said I had to leave the secure area and go out to the ticket agent in the front.

I took Thor and headed out there. After waiting in line (Dora showed up after 10 minutes or so and watched Thor), they told me I had to use a phone and call. Thirty minutes after that, I got a reservation person on the phone who told me that if I had gotten myself thrown off the plane they had no further responsibility to me. She said I could call customer service and gave me that number. When I called it, they were closed until Monday. I went back to the ticket person who was unhelpful (actually, by that time, all three of them had been unhelpful and then disappeared) but who did give me my luggage back.

I went over to Alaska to see about getting tickets with them. Dora, at that point, had been listening in and had managed to get the remaining agents attention. When I returned from Alaska, a supervisor (Elfi) had shown up and was talking with her. She agreed to get us on a flight in the am. “


I found my mother and nephew standing at one of the courtesy phones for the airline (Has it been mentioned yet that it was Delta?). She was having no success getting through. My mother was upset and unsure what to do so she headed over to another airline. I told her that she shouldn’t have to do that. The airline should take responsibility for inappropriately handling the situation. At this point I was infuriated (few have seen me in this state). So I went up the counter, (cutting in line, for shame) and proceeded to ask a very unresponsive young man what they were going to do to reconcile the situation. I said that my mother should not have to suffer because they decided they didn’t like her. That is not a reason to kick anyone off and airplane (or so I thought at the time). I told the guy that I was thinking of contacting my news media contacts about this story. Then I started warning customers coming up to the counter to beware of Delta because they might randomly decide to kick you off the plane for no good reason.

I think, but am not positive, it was at this point that the young man I was speaking to went to go get the supervisor and the women working at the check-in butted in. We didn’t kick your mother off for no reason. She was very rude. My mother? I know my mother and she might get pissy with you if you start something first but she is not going to start anything. How do you know, you weren’t there. I was there and she was very rude. Are you telling me I don’t know my own mother? I’ve known her my whole life and know how she acts. And even if she was, as you say, rude, what grounds is that for kicking someone off a plane? You don’t know you weren’t there. I know I wasn’t there, but I do know my mother and I’ve heard the story from both her and my father, with whom she was on the phone at the time. Your actions were completely inappropriate. (I am refraining from writing the swear words I am sure were scattered here and there through out our conversation). This woman was raising her voice and being very rude, obviously she has had no training in deescalating potentially volatile situations. Not that this situation would have become volatile. I have a lot of self-control.

Around this time the supervisor showed up. And I have to give her props for maintaining a very calm demeanor while I explained to her how completely outrageous the situation was. I told her that there was a complete lack of customer service. Having worked in customer service my self for many years, I had never felt it was necessary or appropriate to remove someone because they were rude (although I would have liked to many times). She told that the ground crew has no control over what the flight crew does. I got from this that basically they are a law unto themselves. I demanded that they get my mother and my nephew on another plane immediately since they needed to be home for my mother to go to work. She asked to speak to my mother instead of me since she was the party involved. So, I took Thor and called up my dad to fill him in on what was going on. I proceeded to speak in a loud voice about how horrible the airline was being and I encouraged Thor who was messing with the line dividers of a neighboring airline to go break the Delta ones instead. Eventually the supervisor agreed to get my mother and Thor on another plane. I’m not sure that all of my behavior was completely appropriate, but I am pretty sure that things would not have worked out so well if I had not put up such a fuss. I thanked the supervisor for being the most reasonable person there and apologized for my behavior towards her, but not the others.

Does this situation represent how out of control everything is getting? Does the individual matter so little that we are forced to strike out at each other to feel secure or to get attention? Why were these people so ready to believe that my mother was acting against them, why were they so threatened? Is this going to be the norm from now on in our (artificial?) “atmosphere of fear”? Do we need to we all need to walk on tenterhooks, afraid that anyone one of us might be the next to spring? What does this do to a sense of community and sense of brother/sisterhood with are fellow human beings? Are these even the right questions? Any answers for me? Please?

Bloggity, blog, blog, blog.

Everybody is doing it. And I guess I’m just like everybody. I was successfully tempted into the blog world (after many years of consideration and study) by the need to share a particular story.