I spent this morning on the Mass Poor People’s Assembly and Digital March On Washington. It was very intense; extremely moving; and full of testimony of people affected by the issues: systemic racism; ecological devastation; lack of healthcare; low wages; the war economy; and at every turn, POVERTY in some form or another would rear its ugly head. There was so much pain, fortitude, suffering, hope, grit, and determination in the stories I heard, the songs that that were sung, the interpreters’ gestures (one man in particular stood out as a rock star), and the fiery calls to action from the organizers. There were tears, also. From me, much of the time.
AND then there was this, going on at the same time outside my door. My landlord and family were getting his nice boat ready to take out on the lake. It was hooked up to his truck, which is one of his many vehicles. He owns more cars than he has family members. This is in addition to the afore-mentioned boat and his Winnebago, an R.V. approximately the size of my apartment. Oh, and I almost forgot to include his motorcycles. I’m unsure as to how many of those he has. (I lose count between motorcycles, dirt bikes, and vintage scooters.) The point is, my landlord is a dude who LIKES his toys and can afford a lot of them. Nothin’ wrong with that, right?
It’s just….the collision between THOSE two worlds today felt so surreal, especially given some of the other conversations I’ve had with the guy. Won’t go into those, but I’ve written about at least one of them earlier. Let’s just say sometimes I feel like I might be living here as cover, or something similar. A friend has to talk me out of moving on a semi-regular basis, saying that one, SOMEONE’S gonna give him money and two, maybe, just MAYBE, our little collisions do some actual good.
Sigh. It’s not that I dislike him or anything. (Most of the time.) But he lives in a world of white male hetero Christian privilege that is SO pervasive and pernicious here. I suspect that, apart from me sticking my queer disruptive head in every now and then, he never hears anything with which he DOESN’T agree, unless it’s portrayed in a negative and unflattering light. He is literally lord of his domain, though he makes frequent wife jokes to the contrary. Despite being a university-educated attorney, though not of the court room variety, he shows little aptitude for critical thinking, IMO, and seems content to let the television do his reasoning for him. (I’ve heard him parrot Fox talking points almost verbatum.) His favorite to repeat to me, and I confess I do not know the origin, is one about how everyone has stopped talking to one another. “Everyone,” in this case, being “progressives” and “conservatives”. I point out to him that WE talk fairly frequently and get ignored. I go on to say that I make a POINT of talking to conservatives, and I have some other friends who also talk to conservatives on a regular basis. Also gets ignored. (Maybe we don’t count? Not lawyers? Not government officials? Idk….) What I don’t say is how, given that we keep having the same conversation over and over, I’m hardly surprised that more progressives and conservatives don’t talk. This is damned hard work; it is tedious AF; and, frankly, I don’t think it’s working.