October 29 Blog: The Underlying Disease, even in Arlington

Dear Friends: 

For those of you following the local Arlington news, videos of a police shooting in May were released last week. The shooting and subsequent aftermath has been locally controversial with many strong reactions. The emotional reactions are understandable. A man died and, luckily for our community, police shootings in Arlington are rare.

Last week, I also listened to an excellent discussion about the book The Man in the Mirror: Hope, Struggle, and Belonging in an American City by Anand Giridharadas which examines a somewhat similar incident in New York City. I was immediately struck by the similarities and, especially, by the diagnosis of the underlying social problem that has created the authoritarian age we live in: the tendency of everyone to reduce people to a simple narrative. The author sees our current culture as one that dehumanizes people and flattens them so the narratives about incidents like this immediately reduce those involved to villains or heroes, victims or subhuman. “Both sides” do it and if we are to survive this era, we all need to start humanizing each other.

I was heartened by how sympathetic to all involved Mr. Giridharadas is. That is, except for a cynical few who try to manipulate the strong feelings of people for their own benefit. They are not the majority, but that cynical manipulation by leaders on both sides of the political spectrum has helped bring us to the dangerous age we are in. He explains why a culture that dehumanizes reduces people at every turn and is all about not seeing other people. He explores why such a culture produces not just a case like this, but has produced this "whole cursed era” we live in. 

Giridharadas points out how the man shot was a complex and tragic figure, and how police who are vilified so often by the left “show more sympathy and understanding of the homeless in Penn Station” than Giridharadas ever had, how people trying to help are stymied by a system that fails constantly, but is very well intentioned. Giridharadas has been, of course, roundly criticized by people on both sides of the issue. Because “instead of dehumanizing anyone, I wanted to humanize everybody”. I urge my readers to listen to the podcast.

FIVE more days!  Like, I suspect, all of my readers, I am hopeful for a blue tsunami on Tuesday. And I suspect we are all very worried about what happens next. A lot of preparation is being done regarding possible election interference.

I think this chart from Indivisible is helpful as it shows what is needed and gives an idea of the kind of preparation that is being done to fight back against any and all attempts to thwart the will of the American people as expressed in these elections. I note that Visibility Brigades, like the one we’ve been holding on the Fairlington Bridge for 19 months now, pretty well meets the goal of each stage. Our visibility brigade plans to take a break right after the election and then, depending on what is needed, pivot to more rapid response actions that will most likely be coordinated nationally; and we will create whatever banner messages are needed. If you would like to get virtual training on election protection or sign up to be part of mass protests that may be necessary, go to Indivisible.org. These blogs, if necessary, may become more frequent.

Don’t forget to VOTE early at the three early voting locations or on Tuesday, November 3 at your regular polling place.

Then, soon I hope, we can work as a nation to treat each other as fellow humans and strengthen our democracy so it never comes this close to fascism again.

Yours in peaceful resistance, 

Libby