Discontented Soul

No Longer a Christian
by Karen Horst Cobb
Published on Monday, October 25, 2004 by CommonDreams.org

I was told in Sunday school the word "Christian" means to be Christ-like, but the message I hear daily on the airwaves from the “christian ” media are words of war, violence, and aggression. Throughout this article I will spell christian with a small c rather than a capital, since the term (as I usually hear it thrown about) does not refer to the teachings of the one I know as the Christ. I hear church goers call in to radio programs and explain that it was a mistake not to kill every living thing in Fallujah. They quote chapter and verse from the old testament about smiting the enemies of Israel. The fear of fighting the terrorists on our soil rather than across the globe causes the voices to be raised as they justify the latest prison scandal or other accounts of the horrors of war. The words they speak are words of destruction, aggression, dominance, revenge, fear and arrogance. The host and the callers echo the belief in the righteousness of our nation's killing. There are reminders to pray for our “christian” president who is doing the work of the Lord: Right to Life, Second Amendmendment, sanctity of marriage, welfare reform, war, kill, evil liberals ... so much to fight, so much to destroy...

Pimping the First Amendment
Human Debasement Run Amok
by John F. Borowski
Published on Saturday, October 16, 2004 by CommonDreams.org

Students bring to school the latest youth jargon, a rite of passage for every generation. These newest semantics though are building a foundation of slang, so vile, so degrading that even the most cynic critic of adolescent “speak” will cringe. But “the race to the bottom” in terms of communication is setting a dangerous precedent where debasement of women is just and the glorification of those who bastardize them is acceptable.
“50 Cent” a supposed music “artist” was recently heralded for his musical achievements in the medium of “music videos.” Mind you, having grown up in Northern New Jersey and having all my family in the Bronx and Queens, I thought I had heard it all. Now, as a teacher I will encounter the glorification of “50 Cent” in my school and maybe, even be treated to a favourite verse by teenagers parodying their hero. “Hoe make the pimp rich, I ain’t payin’ bitch.”
“50 cent” and “Snoop Dogg” are leading children into a duplicitous lie, where pimps are some perverse anti-hero, as if the business of procuring women and girls as prostitutes for profit is acceptable. Now in school, I must stop each student I hear discussing “bitch slappin” or “big pimpin” and give them a dose of reality of what those terms mean. Words are our means of communication, words carry impact and value and can scar and maim. Some defenders of this genre will hide behind the First Amendment. Freedom of speech comes with a price and that price is meant to benefit society. Try yelling bomb in an airport and see how free speech has limitations: for the good of the community rather than the individual. As a die-hard defender of the First Amendment, I would dishonour the framers’ intentions of free speech if I allowed this language to go unchallenged in and out of school.
After kicking around as an ironworker, labourer and other assorted jobs, I found my niche as a teacher. During a trip to New York City, I was propositioned by a sex worker, or as some would call a hoe. She was a beautiful African American woman, who was articulate and witty. During conversation, she told me that her parents had thrown her out of her house, professionals that ironically, worked in the same neighbourhood I taught in. I gave her twenty dollars, told her to get a bus home and make up with her parents. Her eyes welled up and she hugged me and kissed my cheek and simply said, “thanks.” She told me no one on the street had every shown her any concern, unless a sexual act was part of the deal. I think of her from time to time, knowing that she probably didn’t meet the fate of Julia Roberts in “Pretty Woman.” No, her world, now mocked by those who write lyrics about her pain probably had a wall of obstacles: a world of being subhuman, having no rights or being invisible.
The average entry into prostitution is 13 years old, just like the kids I will have in my science class and the age of my youngest daughter. The prevalence of incest among these girls and boys that enter prostitution runs between 65% to 90% and about 90% of all prostitutes have pimps, those glorious men in the big rimmed hats and fur coats that now are fashionable. The rate of rape reported by prostitutes hovers around 80%, with some girls raped eight to ten times per year: so much for the oldest trade in the world as being victimless. Add to this the rate of violence mainly by pimps, from broken arms to burnings with cigarettes and you may understand why I shudder when I hear a girl called a hoe in school.
We are letting our children’s childhoods’ evaporate, leaving them to navigate the shark filled waters of our new “everything is for sale” society. Many young girls will be wearing their September best for school — thongs for preteens called “eye candy”, overpriced shirts bearing a meaningless logo and listening to the numbing beat of music where profanity replaces creativity as adjectives. Their hallways are a verbal minefield where their appearance is judged and juried, but don’t worry, they can drown their sorrows in a can of Pepsi provided by the school. Corporate pimps look to make kids hyper-acute of themselves, where only self-indulgence and materialism are the placebos of medicating their self- doubt, inhibitions and fears. “Logomania” be it empty, profane verses of a song or an empty promise made in a corporate come-on can never fulfill a child like the love of a caring adult, the respect given by a peer or the knowledge of one’s self worth minus the glitz. This is no time to be obsequious lapdogs to those who look to “pimp” our children: no, it is time to find our internal resolve and show some moral courage.
The terms pimp or bitch have no place in school. For those who glorify such scum, I suggest society give them a square kick in the buttocks. If Snoop Dogg and his ilk are artists who care about the condition of inner city children, provide financial support to organizations that will give women a hand up, not a “bitch slap.” Sing about the true nature of pimps: the underbelly of society who should be an endangered species made extinct. Revel in the qualities that define one’s worth: no gaudy medallion or gratuitous T- shirt can give cover to your shallowness.
Teachers, refuse to have those words used in your class or hallways. Take time to explain what a pimp really is and how women do not cherish being sex workers — give your students a dose of reality. Reach out to those who are despondent, because the end of a rope or the edge of a razor may be their final solution to perceived insurmountable problems. Parents listen to what your children call music and have a loving discussion about the boundaries of what is acceptable and why.
Columbia Pictures, who plans to release an 80-minute cartoon about a nine-year-old pimp, should feel your wrath. Does our society have a place for kids revelling in “Lil’Pimp T shirts” or playing out fantasies on a pimp board game? Don’t buy into the perverted spin that casts debasement be it in song or video as free speech. Call it for what it is — pawning children for profit, no matter the cost.
I will find myself humming to a rap song when I greet my students. Called “I Can” by “Nas”, it focuses on what children can be and should be, no exploitation, no false illusions about what determines their beauty as humans. “I know I can, be what I want to be. If I work hard at it, I’ll be where I want to be.”
The question is where are we as adults, as the wise elders who must lead? Do we know what we can be? 55 million school children await our decisions.

John F. Borowski is an environmental and marine science teacher in North Salem High in Oregon. His pieces have appeared in PR Watch, Counterpunch, Utne Reader, NY Times and other publications

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Dear Dr/Mr Borowski,
Let me start by saying that I agree totally with your article. I, too, find utterly abhorrent the debasement of women and girls in today’s “popular” culture. Sadly, I must opine that the culprits here are the civilization and mores of the United States itself.
I suspect that one needs to go right back to the very roots, and consider the basic assumptions of America’s culture. I am not talking of the Constitution and Amendments, the Bill of Rights and the massive amounts of philosophical and political thinking which buttresses your version of democracy, all of which are indeed beacons to the rest of humanity. But go further back and one finds that what we today call the United States of America was founded as a theocracy (maybe this is why it gets on so well with Israel, and rubs so badly against the Muslim world, both of which entities are in the same line of work), with its basis in the heady days of primitive Capitalism. In this world great wealth is not merely not a barrier to entering heaven, but in fact the key to paradise; it becomes not merely a mark of Divine Favour, but an indication of High Morality. The wealthy are morally “good,” because they show great energy in accumulation, and great restraint in outlaying their resources, and the possession of wealth makes one not merely “fit to rule” but also fit to pronounce moral judgment on any question — it amazes those of us brought up in other cultures how Bill Gates, who has made millions from his computing genius, can be asked to pontificate on TV about Health and Education Policy. Conversely the lazy and the spendthrift is a “bad” person who deserves to fail — one thinks of the fable of the Ant and the Grasshopper here. Not only is salvation individual, but so is economic survival — any communalistic approach to economic wellbeing, from trade-unionism to the New Deal, has traditionally been cast as GODLESS, and, in the C20, a manifestation of communism.
Therefore these animals who are preying on the innocent are merely trying to realize the most deep-seated version of the “American Dream.” In the absence of any other ladder upon which to climb out of the “pit” of poverty or any other avenue to guaranteeing their wellbeing and advancement, they have turned to the exploitation of others. Their ‘glorification” is merely the logical end of basic US assumptions about the way society should work — Greed is Good and making a bundle is the highest of aspirations. Of course, the same could be said of the Russian Mafia — having been convinced of the “falsity” of their collectivist ideology, they are now trying to fit into the “norm” promulgated by the Leader of the World.
Sadly, without a very thorough examination and overhaul of the rationales underpinning your society, I see no solution for your dilemma!
Cheers
Gwalchgwyn
AUSTRALIA

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Hello Gwalchgwyn...
Sadly...you hit the nail on the head. The American culture has morphed into a meaningless pursuit of wealth. Quality of life issues have no bearing on our GNP. We Americans could (and are) eating up the world's resources and our GNP shows not a single negative blip.
We hope to overhaul one of our underpinning of society by getting rid of Heir Bush. Then...we must re-examine the true nature of a sane society: productive, sustainable, having an eye to the future, insuring all a right to health benefits and a clean environment. I don't blame those young folks: I grew up near this poverty and they sense that they are pursuing the American dream in their "own way."
Thanks for your insights. Not all of us Americans are morons (even though I am embarrassed by what the world sees of us). I see a movement that stresses much less consumption, a resumption of family life and an eye to the future that ensures a sustainable planet. I plan to fight like hell and use my God given right to express my thoughts. I love teaching: I can challenge kids to think and act upon those thoughts. Blessings to you and yours down under. Say a prayer for America....JB
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G’day JB (if I may so address you)
Thank you for your prompt response to my letter. I too am a teacher, and like you, I love my job, encouraging my students to develop reasonable values and analytical faculties.
Unfortunately, this is sometimes a frustrating task. Australia also had an “interesting” birth — as a convict settlement, which has left us with some social baggage as well, in this case a fair serving of anti-intellectualism.
The ideal Australian is the sportsperson, long on strength and stamina, but short on the ability to think and articulate his/her thoughts. Any evidence of critical or independent opinions is disparaged, particularly when those opinions are in any way progressive — young people who show an ability to think and reason rather than a facility on the sporting field (or its fringes) are denigrated as being “up ‘emselves” and soon learn to conceal it. You may say that the same applies in your schools, but at least in the US there is some tradition of learning, and respect for intellectual achievement. Here in Oz, learning was the province of the wealthy and their lackeys, who’d cleverly “done the dirty on us in the Old Bailey and had us exiled in chains to The Fatal Shore.”
The latest put-down for us “progressive intellectuals” is “elitist,” usually with the addition of “chardonnay-sipping” and “Volvo-driving.” Although similar phrases were always part of the currency of speech in Australia, these particular sobriquets were first brought into public discourse by Paul Keating, a Prime Minister from the right-wing of the Labor Party — supposedly the “party of the working person” — who, ironically enough, wore Armani suits and collected antique Swiss clocks. The current Liberal/National Party Coalition Government has made a meal of such disparaging labels — this has been aided by the mediocrity of its current leader, John Howard, a thoroughgoing nonentity who likes to paint himself as the “ordinary bloke,” the “little Aussie battler,” but whose only claim to fame will be that he was willing to crawl further up Dubya’s nether orifice than his political opponents. Interestingly, I gather that the Bushies have adopted similar tactics and epithets — “latte-drinking,” “liberal” and “economic girlie-men” being several that I’ve heard.
There are good and intelligent people among all nations, colours, creeds and persuasions. As you say it is down to men and women of good will everywhere to speak out for a rational and humane future. I wish us all success!

I am appalled by some of the crap that your correspondents write about Islam and Muslims, particularly that nonsense I heard on Wednesday about martyrdom. Such balderdash is on a par with the “blood libel” that has been used to smear Jews for a thousand years (do a Google search on “blood libel” — you’ll be surprised how many people still believe it).
The best way to find out what Muslims believe is to ASK them. Muslims are constrained from pushing their religion down others’ throats, but are encouraged to discuss their beliefs with all, provided that they are approached to do so, and approached as human beings, not as funny foreigners or scary demons.
Or one could go out and borrow or buy a copy of the Quran (Koran) and READ it — there are many translations, some sympathetic to Islam and some not, and all are freely available.
Your correspondents should stop listening to the “greed-is-good” happy-clappy wackos of Hillsong [a community of wealthy evangelicals in Western Sydney] and reading the trashy tabloids which talk of a “secret agenda” in any faith and deliberately refuse to consider that religion can be used for political ends, and invite their Muslim neighbours over for a barbie.
Or maybe your listeners feel that this approach is too “intellectual” and redolent of Howard’s bêtes noires, the “elites.”

I was going to give you Full Marks for the integrity you showed in talking to Kaysar Trad of the Muslim community on Friday. However I’m afraid I’m going to have to mark you down, old chap, for two reasons:—

Firstly, you told Mr Trad that it is “his people” — Muslims — who are responsible for the terrorism in the Middle East. By the same token, John,
- it is “your people” — Christians — who firebomb abortion clinics and murder doctors who perform abortions and the women who have them;
- it is “your people” who are currently going out of their way to aggravate the Israel/Palestine conflict and the Iraq situation in the hope that it will quicken the second coming of Jesus (eg James Woolsey, ex-CIA Chief, now a gris eminence in the Iraqi interim administration);
- it is “your people,” in the shape of a US General in full uniform, who gave a sermon to troops in basic training telling them that Islam was an “evil” belief and should be stamped out (the fact that he was not disciplined tells Muslims that this view is the official view of the USA);
- it is “your people,” in the form of a couple of Family First Party ratbags before the federal election who claimed that lesbians were “witches who should be burned to death” and that synagogues and mosques were “temples of Satan” (that these people were not only not jailed but not even expelled from the party puts fear into ALL minorities);
- it is “your people” who publish textbooks for six-year-olds telling them that belief in Baby Jesus is the Only True Faith and that all other religions are sinful abominations which will be “swept away by the hand of god.”
You may argue that these are just expressions of “Free Speech” — why is it that we in the “enlightened” West are allowed to spew hatred and fear under the rubric of freedom of speech, but THEY are not? Moreover, if Mr Trad is supposed to be “doing something” about the firebrands of Islam, what will YOU do about these firebrands of Christianity?
Finally, John, while a sense of history or justice is not necessary in the “fooddie [football] club” or on stage at Hillsong, most Muslims are aware of the fact that until 150 or so years ago, “your people” were quite willing to kill those who refused to convert to the religion of Baby Jesus (or their version thereof), and that even in the 1990s animals like Slobodan Milosevic were eager to raise the Cross of Jesus in triumph over the graves of the Muslims they slaughtered.
Secondly, John, while you have mellowed over the years, you are still too quick on the DUMP-button. You raise these issues, take a few quick calls, editorialize and then move on. I think you should leave the red-neck populism to the likes of Zemanek [Stan Zemanek, a rabid right-wing talkback host on the same station] and concentrate on presenting the high-quality program for which you are becoming famous.
Just a few suggestions.

Blood Libel
The Roots of Racism and the Fear of Sex in the Pro-life Movement
by Miss Poppy Dixon

It is remarkable how uninventive is human malignity — Renan

One of the most scandalous lies that one group has told about another is that the other group kills, and sometimes eats, children. This accusation, known as "blood libel," has a long, and tenacious history. Usually the motive for this lie has to do with race or nationality, but currently it is directed primarily at the female gender...