Saturday, February 12, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Tired of Talking About Race? Really?
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Tired
Some white folks sometimes say,
"I'm tired of talking about race."
I'd get tired of hearing them say
that and other things about race--
except then I say to myself, Tired?
Really? Try 300 years of slavery,
then getting emancipated into
the terrors of Jim Crow and the
Klan, then 60 more years, and
counting, of endless bullshit.
I've not yet met a Black man
in the U.S. who hasn't been
stopped by the police only
because he's Black. Some
white folks need to warp
who their president is so
desperately, they'll believe
anything--or say anything
to to those who will believe
anything. This isn't about
politics. It's about something
much deeper and even more
awful than politics. Speaking
of which, I know
this smart man in the South who
knows his politics, I mean
real politics, knows it cold. He's
white. Twice he's told me,
"If it weren't for race, there'd
be no Republican Party in the South."
So,when I think I might be
tired of what some white
folks say when they use
"tired" as an excuse not
to engage, I think, Really?
Tired? You're tired? Well,
what do you know?
]
]
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Tired
Some white folks sometimes say,
"I'm tired of talking about race."
I'd get tired of hearing them say
that and other things about race--
except then I say to myself, Tired?
Really? Try 300 years of slavery,
then getting emancipated into
the terrors of Jim Crow and the
Klan, then 60 more years, and
counting, of endless bullshit.
I've not yet met a Black man
in the U.S. who hasn't been
stopped by the police only
because he's Black. Some
white folks need to warp
who their president is so
desperately, they'll believe
anything--or say anything
to to those who will believe
anything. This isn't about
politics. It's about something
much deeper and even more
awful than politics. Speaking
of which, I know
this smart man in the South who
knows his politics, I mean
real politics, knows it cold. He's
white. Twice he's told me,
"If it weren't for race, there'd
be no Republican Party in the South."
So,when I think I might be
tired of what some white
folks say when they use
"tired" as an excuse not
to engage, I think, Really?
Tired? You're tired? Well,
what do you know?
Friends Black and White
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Friends Black and White
History made us Black.
History made us White.
Anyway, my wife and I
(history made us White)
invited three friends over
(history made them Black),
women. We five laughed
all night, it seemed. Sure,
we talked about some serious
stuff. One of the friends said,
"I'm about to tell you some
sad shit." But mostly we laughed.
Teased each other.
One of the women asked me
what I was up to, as I'm always
up to something. "Among other
things, I'm writing blues lyrics--
but," I added, "white guy--blues
lyrics?--I don't know . . . ." She
said, "It's okay. You're on the list."
And we laughed.
History made two of us White.
History made three of us Black.
We made us friends. I mean,
real friends. It takes some work:
friendship--hell, you know that.
You have to want it. You have
to know your histories. You
have to like to laugh and know
when not to laugh, as when somebody's
telling you some sad shit. You
have to want to learn, especially
if History made you White.
Copyright 2011 Hans Ostrom
[
[
[
Friends Black and White
History made us Black.
History made us White.
Anyway, my wife and I
(history made us White)
invited three friends over
(history made them Black),
women. We five laughed
all night, it seemed. Sure,
we talked about some serious
stuff. One of the friends said,
"I'm about to tell you some
sad shit." But mostly we laughed.
Teased each other.
One of the women asked me
what I was up to, as I'm always
up to something. "Among other
things, I'm writing blues lyrics--
but," I added, "white guy--blues
lyrics?--I don't know . . . ." She
said, "It's okay. You're on the list."
And we laughed.
History made two of us White.
History made three of us Black.
We made us friends. I mean,
real friends. It takes some work:
friendship--hell, you know that.
You have to want it. You have
to know your histories. You
have to like to laugh and know
when not to laugh, as when somebody's
telling you some sad shit. You
have to want to learn, especially
if History made you White.
Copyright 2011 Hans Ostrom
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Recommended Film: Two Indians Talking
Two Indians Talking is a new independent Canadian film directed by Sara McIntyre and written by Andrew Genaille. It's deftly directed, understated film about what it says it's about: two Cree Indians talking about life, love, right and wrong, beliefs, aspirations, and especially their people. The conversations occur as the two wait for reinforcements are supposed to help them block a major highway as a way of advocating for tribal rights and title.
Nathaniel Arcand plays Nathan, who is heading toward 30 if not already there. He dropped out of high school and has given up on his dream of being a famous musician. He is, however, savvier than he pretends to be. His main interests are women and looking out for the best interests of his people.
Justin Rain plays Adam, a kind of prototypical gifted child who eventually went off to college. He's well read and opinionated, fierce in his own way, but also a shy loner who is less certain of his views than he pretends to be. He's the reluctant participant in the impending protest, caught between the instinct to live life through gaining knowledge and the necessity to fight back by means of activism. Adam and Nathan are cousins but the dynamic of their relationship is more like that of younger and older brother.
There are faint echoes of My Dinner With Andre, from back in the day, but these conversations are earthier, less pretentious, and well grounded in the predicament of the Cree in Canada. Nonetheless, Nietzsche plays more than a cameo role, thanks to Adam and his philosophical bent.
A lot of droll, wry humor threads itself through Adam's and Nathan's bickering and reminiscences as the film develops toward its denouement.
The actor Sam Bob also injects a superb comic performance about two-thirds of the way through. He appears to be the sum total of the reinforcements but assures Adam and Nathan that "one Cree is all it takes."
Denyc and Ashley Harry also turn in strong performances as two young Cree women who drop by to see the lads. Denyc plays Tara, who matches Adam opinion for opinion. Sara McIntyre's careful direction brings out the best in these and other scenes.
The film is, among other things, perfectly suited to college classes in Canada and the U.S. that focus on the situation of contemporary Indians, aboriginal peoples, multi-ethnic issues, and independent film-making.
Two Indians Talking has already won awards from the Vancouver International Film Festival and the Winnipeg Aboriginal Film Festival. It will also be featured at the Victoria B.C. film festival, and this weekend, Sara McIntyre (and the film) will visit the Spokane Film Festival; she will be there February 11 and 12.
Here is a link to the facebook page for the film.
Nathaniel Arcand plays Nathan, who is heading toward 30 if not already there. He dropped out of high school and has given up on his dream of being a famous musician. He is, however, savvier than he pretends to be. His main interests are women and looking out for the best interests of his people.
Justin Rain plays Adam, a kind of prototypical gifted child who eventually went off to college. He's well read and opinionated, fierce in his own way, but also a shy loner who is less certain of his views than he pretends to be. He's the reluctant participant in the impending protest, caught between the instinct to live life through gaining knowledge and the necessity to fight back by means of activism. Adam and Nathan are cousins but the dynamic of their relationship is more like that of younger and older brother.
There are faint echoes of My Dinner With Andre, from back in the day, but these conversations are earthier, less pretentious, and well grounded in the predicament of the Cree in Canada. Nonetheless, Nietzsche plays more than a cameo role, thanks to Adam and his philosophical bent.
A lot of droll, wry humor threads itself through Adam's and Nathan's bickering and reminiscences as the film develops toward its denouement.
The actor Sam Bob also injects a superb comic performance about two-thirds of the way through. He appears to be the sum total of the reinforcements but assures Adam and Nathan that "one Cree is all it takes."
Denyc and Ashley Harry also turn in strong performances as two young Cree women who drop by to see the lads. Denyc plays Tara, who matches Adam opinion for opinion. Sara McIntyre's careful direction brings out the best in these and other scenes.
The film is, among other things, perfectly suited to college classes in Canada and the U.S. that focus on the situation of contemporary Indians, aboriginal peoples, multi-ethnic issues, and independent film-making.
Two Indians Talking has already won awards from the Vancouver International Film Festival and the Winnipeg Aboriginal Film Festival. It will also be featured at the Victoria B.C. film festival, and this weekend, Sara McIntyre (and the film) will visit the Spokane Film Festival; she will be there February 11 and 12.
Here is a link to the facebook page for the film.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
As My Generation Dies
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Generation Blues
Death's eating into my generation
as it's done with every other one.
I knew it was coming but am
transfixed and awfully grieved still.
A heart-attack here, cancer there,
suicide, accidents, crime . . . "He wasn't
feeling well, so he went up to his
room. They found him dead a few
hours later. Stroke, they think."
The funerals mostly bore me.
Boredom makes me feel guilty,
although the one spoken of isn't
there, and if she or he were, he
or she would be bored, too.
Eventually I'm moved. There is
that one point in every funeral.
The generation blues is an exercise
in sitting still, as in kindergarten.
It's about wondering who's next
and thinking nothing matters--
until after the funeral, when again
we get caught up in life, which matters,
until the next one we know dies, and
we become still again, or the next one
is me, is I, who, dead, will get
instantly and forever still and might
be talked about to people who are
getting fidgety, thinking when will it end?
Copyright 2011 Hans Ostrom
^
#
_
Generation Blues
Death's eating into my generation
as it's done with every other one.
I knew it was coming but am
transfixed and awfully grieved still.
A heart-attack here, cancer there,
suicide, accidents, crime . . . "He wasn't
feeling well, so he went up to his
room. They found him dead a few
hours later. Stroke, they think."
The funerals mostly bore me.
Boredom makes me feel guilty,
although the one spoken of isn't
there, and if she or he were, he
or she would be bored, too.
Eventually I'm moved. There is
that one point in every funeral.
The generation blues is an exercise
in sitting still, as in kindergarten.
It's about wondering who's next
and thinking nothing matters--
until after the funeral, when again
we get caught up in life, which matters,
until the next one we know dies, and
we become still again, or the next one
is me, is I, who, dead, will get
instantly and forever still and might
be talked about to people who are
getting fidgety, thinking when will it end?
Copyright 2011 Hans Ostrom
Personal Collages
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Personal Collages
Early I get there where they're not
waiting for me because they don't
get there early and because they
expect somebody just-on-time.
Short-cuts I like to take when
sauntering back, maybe a
diagonal leaving a sidewalk walking
or taking a strange street driving.
A long time I'll spend on something
because I'm absorbed or compelled
or habitual or relentless. Hardly
any time will I spend on some task
if I'm bored, I'll get it done. These
collages of how each of us lives:
they're assembled from pieces of
temperament and formation,
resistance, weakness, strength,
fear, instinct, desire, and distraction.
Brain-chemistry plays role. They say.
Enchanted, I am, often, when I look
at others' collages of habits. Their ways.
Copyright 2011 Hans Ostrom
}
[
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Personal Collages
Early I get there where they're not
waiting for me because they don't
get there early and because they
expect somebody just-on-time.
Short-cuts I like to take when
sauntering back, maybe a
diagonal leaving a sidewalk walking
or taking a strange street driving.
A long time I'll spend on something
because I'm absorbed or compelled
or habitual or relentless. Hardly
any time will I spend on some task
if I'm bored, I'll get it done. These
collages of how each of us lives:
they're assembled from pieces of
temperament and formation,
resistance, weakness, strength,
fear, instinct, desire, and distraction.
Brain-chemistry plays role. They say.
Enchanted, I am, often, when I look
at others' collages of habits. Their ways.
Copyright 2011 Hans Ostrom
Professional Golfers
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Professional Golfers
Each walks in front of someone hauling
a bag of silver sticks. Each one selects
one stick and wags and wields it,
comically attacking a white nut on
the ground. A groomed pasture
without animals is the setting.
Sometimes there's a lost pond or
a piece of stolen beach among
the undulations. Even the old
golfers look like girls and boys,
with caps and visors and colorful
clothes. Apparently the ritual
is absurd but remunerative.
The Platonic Ideal is to never
strike the spherical nut, so that
your score is zero--no strokes
of silver sticks in a pastoral
frieze without lambs. Now up
out of one of the denatured
beaches comes a hermit-crab,
surrounded by a dry, green
ocean, blinking, bewildered,
not a member of the club.
Copyright 2011 Hans Ostrom
+
%
#
Professional Golfers
Each walks in front of someone hauling
a bag of silver sticks. Each one selects
one stick and wags and wields it,
comically attacking a white nut on
the ground. A groomed pasture
without animals is the setting.
Sometimes there's a lost pond or
a piece of stolen beach among
the undulations. Even the old
golfers look like girls and boys,
with caps and visors and colorful
clothes. Apparently the ritual
is absurd but remunerative.
The Platonic Ideal is to never
strike the spherical nut, so that
your score is zero--no strokes
of silver sticks in a pastoral
frieze without lambs. Now up
out of one of the denatured
beaches comes a hermit-crab,
surrounded by a dry, green
ocean, blinking, bewildered,
not a member of the club.
Copyright 2011 Hans Ostrom
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Kindness
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Kindness
Is it out of fashion? Naive? Quaint?
People are nice, cool, okay, decent,
and all right. But: kind? Kindness is
small-town and small-time. I like it.
I like the hell out of it.
To be friendly for no reason other
than the person is your kind (human).
To do a good turn. To look away
at just the right moment. To notice
when noticing's needed. To provide
some assistance. Narcissists
and bullies hate and therefore exploit
kindness like wild dogs devouring meat.
Don't spend kindness on or near them.
Don't impose kindness on anyone.
The kind move, it seems, must
be a deft move. Just enough.
Copyright 2011 Hans Ostrom
#
#
#
Kindness
Is it out of fashion? Naive? Quaint?
People are nice, cool, okay, decent,
and all right. But: kind? Kindness is
small-town and small-time. I like it.
I like the hell out of it.
To be friendly for no reason other
than the person is your kind (human).
To do a good turn. To look away
at just the right moment. To notice
when noticing's needed. To provide
some assistance. Narcissists
and bullies hate and therefore exploit
kindness like wild dogs devouring meat.
Don't spend kindness on or near them.
Don't impose kindness on anyone.
The kind move, it seems, must
be a deft move. Just enough.
Copyright 2011 Hans Ostrom
slow down
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slow down
a north carolinian i know continues
a quest to know himself & out west
i think that's good because most people
are on the same kind of path but don't
know it or won't admit it. me, i've
been running, pushing, working,
catching up, and attempting
most of my life & now have to
train myself to stop, look, think,
but mostly stop: life's not
something to solve through work
and will. if you'd know something,
then slow something down, i
tell myself, thinking of the north
carolinian in question, his schedule
spare and regular, allowing
patient thought. slow down.
slow, i tell myself. whoever
myself is must look into that.
Copyright 2011 Hans Ostrom
&
&
&
slow down
a north carolinian i know continues
a quest to know himself & out west
i think that's good because most people
are on the same kind of path but don't
know it or won't admit it. me, i've
been running, pushing, working,
catching up, and attempting
most of my life & now have to
train myself to stop, look, think,
but mostly stop: life's not
something to solve through work
and will. if you'd know something,
then slow something down, i
tell myself, thinking of the north
carolinian in question, his schedule
spare and regular, allowing
patient thought. slow down.
slow, i tell myself. whoever
myself is must look into that.
Copyright 2011 Hans Ostrom
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