0514blog
Just Too Busy
I have never been struck by a bolt of lightning and I can only imagine that it hurts, I have never been swept away in a tsunami or seen my home destroyed by a tornado but I imagine it is very frightening, I have never been a victim of a violent crime but I’m sure it’s very unnerving, I’ve never had a serious case of COVID -19 and I thank my lucky stars about that, I have never been wounded in a war and that too must hurt a lot, I have never been in a mass shooting but that must cause unimaginable grief and I have never had a missile attack totally annihilate my house but I assume it would devastate me and my family. Then again, I have bigger worries, like why my WiFi isn’t reliable or when will I be allowed to walk around without a mask or will the municipal pool open this year.
And that is why we are by and large able to watch with relative calm and detachment and even appropriate temporary shock as the carnage unfold between Israelis and Palestinians, and read about yet another mass shooting, and see media coverage of the shooting of another unarmed black man and read about white supremacists attacking the capitol and and and and…
Having a rocket fall on my home is about as likely as my being named pope and I can imagine it about as well as I can imagine what it would feel like to be lofted to Mars by a spaceship. Being shot in the leg by an enemy soldier, my body racked in pain, blood pouring out, my life force draining, expecting to die, carries a reality to me like reading about it in a book or watching “Platoon” on Netflix or a new docudrama on Hulu while I am safe and warm, noshing on olives stuffed with feta cheese and please can you grab me another IPA from the fridge. I mean that of course, I am certainly concerned with the violence we see spiraling out of control every day, only a heartless fool would not care, but I am really kind of busy cutting the lawn and it sure is a beautiful spring day out there.
The best I can do is sound like I’m woke, that I care about inequality and imperialism and racism and anti-Semitism anywhere but that’s about all I can do because I really don’t want to do any more and I certainly don’t want to get my hands dirty, thank you. And I really do enjoy reading about great adventures even if my narrow, little life offers little more than my immediate reality can stand. It’s kind of like my adopted “religion” of Unitarian Universalism, which has been described as “broadly admired but commanding only a modicum of passion and commitment.” I mean I’ll put out a lawn sign or two but that’s about as far as I go. And any way, I’m safe, my family’s safe, we’re all safe, aren’t we, aren’t we?
The percentage of people who personally experience violence depends on where you live and who you are but in my predominantly white, affluent, relatively insulated cocoon of a world, it’s about as common as being attacked by a rogue crocodile in Hackettstown and the closest most of us come to such experiences is reading the headlines or the Facebook comments and if there is domestic violence it is safely kept quiet behind locked doors. When most people hear the word “Nakba,” it conjures up images of a new pop singer from Australia and our biggest concern is that ShopRite has run out of toilet paper. It is not possible to feel what it is like for that child in tears who has been ripped away from his home and who has watched in abject terror as a missile explodes his home. Because it is so disconnected with our reality, it is not surprising that our reactions are little more than a momentary commentary on the tragedy,if that.
Reminds me of a Phil Ochs song, “Outside of a Small Circle of Friends,” which is so relevant and perfect 54 years after it was written, that I will quote in entirety:
“Oh, look outside the window, there’s a woman bein’ grabbed
They’ve dragged her to the bushes, and now she’s bein’ stabbed.
Maybe we should call the cops and try to stop the pain
But Monopoly is so much fun, I’d hate to blow the game.
And I’m sure it wouldn’t interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends.
“Ridin’ down the highway, yes, my back is gettin’ stiff
13 cars are piled up, they’re hangin’ on a cliff.
Now maybe we should pull them back with our towing chain
But we gotta move, and we might get sued, and it looks like it’s gonna rain.
And I’m sure it wouldn’t interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends.
“Sweating in the ghetto with the colored and the poor
The rats have joined the babies who are sleepin’ on the floor.
Now wouldn’t it be a riot if they really blew their tops?
But they got too much already, and besides, we’ve got the cops.
And I’m sure it wouldn’t interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends.
“Oh, there’s a dirty paper using sex to make her sales
The Supreme Court was so upset they sent him off to jail
Maybe we should help the fiend and take away his fine
But we’re busy reading Playboy and the Sunday New York Times.
And I’m sure it wouldn’t interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends.
“Smokin’ marijuana is more fun than drinkin’ beer
But a friend of ours was captured, and they gave him 30 years.
Maybe we should raise our voices, ask somebody why
But demonstrations are a drag, besides, we’re much too high.
And I’m sure it wouldn’t interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends.
“Oh, look outside the window, there’s a woman bein’ grabbed
They’ve dragged her to the bushes, and now she’s bein’ stabbed.
Maybe we should call the cops and try to stop the pain
But Monopoly is so much fun, I’d hate to blow the game.
And I’m sure it wouldn’t interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends.”
Ochs wrote the song after Kitty Genovese was stabbed in New York City in 1964, while many reportedly watched and no one called the police or attempted to help.