Review Retrospective: Not reviewed, but seen

As I get closer to completion, there has been this nagging feeling about some omissions.

Technically, if we are just going over reviews, then it is not an omission because I have never reviewed any of these bands. I have mentioned some of them, possibly often.

However, if we look at some of the other posts -- including the one on emo bands that I just wrapped up -- several of the posts have involved songs or bands that have not been reviewed but have been an influence. 

Most of these bands have been very important to me; it feels wrong to leave them out.

And I have seen them all in concert!

"Take On Me" by A-ha
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djV11Xbc914

They were my second concert, because Charlie made it to Portland earlier, but they were the first band I truly loved. Technically, we have tickets to see them again. The show keeps getting delayed, but it's going to happen.

"In Deep" by Charlie Sexton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJNHhB2_R4s

I still loved Charlie a great deal. The sounds are totally different, with A-ha so synth-centric and Sexton so focused on guitar, but they both work for me. 

I chose this song because this is one of the albums that I picked up when working at K-Mart, and I bought it solely because of his song. (Though the record is pretty decent overall, like most 80s soundtracks.)

"That Was Then, This Is Now" by The Monkees
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T7NuBTmQ7g

While they were not quite as emotionally important to me, I did watch the show. I was excited to get a chance to see them, then possibly a little disappointed at the weathering. Ultimately I am grateful that I went, and this is still a pretty good song.

“To Be A Lover” by Billy Idol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_L9epO3tJT4

This was my fourth concert. I saw him when he was touring supporting Charmed Life, but this song is from Whiplash Smile. Charmed Life was when his legs were shattered and he wasn't working with Steve Stevens anymore, plus losing Perri Lister (because of his cheating)... it is not as fun an album, though it was still a fun concert.

This also means that I have never seen Steve Stevens live.

"Love And Affection" by Nelson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1W6-ErrHls

They went country after, and at least one got kind of douchey, but I still really like this album. Getting to this concert was significant because I had to find a ride up from Eugene and I was supposed to meet someone, but we still relied on pay phones at the time (the horror!). Ultimately, I did make it, but I also had an unused ticket. Still a good memory.

This was my fifth concert if we don't count the one where I lost my tickets, was frustrated, and snuck backstage, but couldn't hear anything and didn't see anyone except some dancers. The wouldn't count, right? 

Somewhere between that first five concerts and starting to write reviews, I did start making it to concerts more often. I stopped counting by this point, but there are still two that are not reviewed but very important.

"Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9gKyRmic20

Especially Neil, but both Finn brothers have meant a lot to my musical tastes. I loved Split Enz early, even watching their televised concert that was aired on Nickelodeon a few times. Then, they broke up, but here came Crowded House (which Tim did join, but later, and I associate them more with Neil). I have seen Crowded House (after Paul's death, but with Nick back), and I have seen Finn Brothers, but not in that order. I just don't know that they could do anything that I wouldn't like. 

So it really never is over.

"Basket Case" by Green Day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUTGr5t3MoY

Somewhere in a story that I have thought out but not written, there is a girl who gets struck by this song like a bolt of lightning.

I have only seen them once, and I still wish I'd understood better what was going on with the puppets. I know the review in the paper criticized it for being just like their last show. Maybe, but it was new to me. I didn't hear the audience complaining. 

So many music reviewers suck, especially in how they can't comprehend any taste that varies from their own, but I was mean that night too.

On the train heading home we were talking about the concert. This woman (whom I thought of as old, but I am probably now her age) cut in to talk about her love of Andre Rieu, whom I guess she also thought was cool because he had long hair. I listened less and less patiently as she kept going on. She was not taking in this conversation, only giving. When she got to Bob Dylan I think I said something about how horrible a singer he was. I don't like him, so there are a lot of things I could have said.

She countered "But he was the voice of a generation!"

"Not mine."

And that successfully ended the conversation. 

I would totally do that again. 

I would probably not sneak backstage again. However, wandering around, talking to stage crew and arena staff -- and for the first two, bus drivers -- yes, always and forever.

APAHM 2021: The Documentaries

One nice thing about writing about the movies is that they really were watched in May 2021; I did observe the month in the intended time frame.

Which is probably the only reason I was able to find the first movie.

I have been wanting to see The Problem with Apu since it came out in 2017. It was not easy to find, even searching on different streaming services. (I may have been looking at the wrong ones.)

This year I was determined to make it happen. I went to the IMDB page to check distribution, thinking that I was going to have to buy or rent a copy. It showed that it was scheduled to air on TruTV. Record!

I don't know if anything changed with distribution, but I suspect the month where we think about Asian-Americans might be getting more attention as we see increasing violence against them. That seems like a reasonable response, I guess, though it is hard to feel good about that as a reason. 

I was nonetheless very happy to find this movie so easily.

The documentary is valuable. It is very much Hari Kondabolu's personal journey and feelings. We get to hear from many other people. This shows us the extent to which the caricature of Apu is used to mock people who are either Indian or perceived to be Indian. It is more than I would have thought, which was probably (and depressingly) naive.

I think there could have been room for more critical analysis, but even though that is a thing I like, that might have made other people consider it boring. Listening to people who are actually affected by specific flavor of racism and letting them have a voice may be more valuable, and more to the point.

The other movie was Who Is Arthur Chu?, also from 2017, but only discovered recently. I don't remember how it came up. (I streamed the film through our library's Kanopy connection, so it may have been while searching for something else there.)

My love for Jeopardy! is well-established. I remember and did not like Arthur Chu then. Yes, I did find the category jumping annoying, but what really bugged me was the $5 wager on the daily double. At least do $100! It was too obvious that he was not a fan of Jeopardy!, and that bothered me.

(I understand that this could be perceived as jealousy, though I do not feel that it is.)

Anyway, I didn't like him then, but a little after I would start seeing thoughtful and good tweets from him, including some well-written essays on important topics. I started to like him then, as a writer and Tweeter.

There were some things that felt very familiar in the movie -- some from my own life, and some from other family dynamics through books or friends -- but the part that stuck me most was between Arthur and his wife at the time, Eliza. It was this question for both of them, individually, about what to do. 

For Arthur, it was more about how to do some good now that he had a platform; what were good ways to use that? For Eliza, someone creative who had a day job but also was dealing with a chronic illness, how do you balance that? For both of them, there was the question of sticking with the day job, or pursuing new things; could they afford to? Could they succeed without leaving?

These are very familiar questions. I don't have my answers yet, but many of my questions come back to what good can I do, and how much good different paths will allow.

That makes me want to circle back to Kondabolu. That there was a documentary made about him is because in his comedy he was addressing the damage that the character of Apu does. That happened after trying to use the racism against himself and his parents for laughs, and finding that he could not feel right about that.

Good on him for that; a lot of comics never get there. 

It is worse if the laughs come from making fun of people they don't care about. Ir is sad when a lot of comics don't seem to have any self-regard (sometimes also somewhat understandable), but it is infuriating that there are still people who build their acts on bigotry. It is infuriating that they still have an audience.

We need to be demanding better. I do see some movement in that direction, but there is a long way to go.

Yes, part of that is not continuing to reward people for racist humor and entertainment based on stereotypes, much of which is pretty tired and not nearly as clever as they think. 

It is also making a point of listening to voices that aren't always white and male and straight. I should watch more specials from Asian American comedians. There are more available on Netflix than you might think. Give a new author a try, or a new band. If you like something, recommend it.

Yes, we can question Hank Azaria and Matt Groening about Apu, but it hasn't done much good. That doesn't mean that the questions shouldn't be asked, but the uplifting of other voices may ultimately be more helpful.

And then sometimes it's also touching, or funny, or really makes you think. I love the windows that books and movies and music have opened to me. 

There is so much out there, waiting for us.

Ruined for Rom-Coms: APAHM 2021

This title uses the abbreviation for Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, which may be a little more elegant than some of the others. 

Realistically, I understand that some of my dissatisfaction with the titles is social conditioning where talking about race feels rude. I acknowledge this discomfort and affirm that it is worthwhile.

I avoided Netflix for a long time; the last thing that I need is another monthly expense. As I was setting some viewing and listening priorities (along with the reading), I was frustrated that so much content is now part of paid streaming services. 

I am still holding out on Tidal, ESPN+ and Disney+, but I gave in on Netflix specifically for Hannah Gadsby: Nanette, When They See Us, and (most relevant to today's post) Always Be My Maybe.

Those were the primary reasons I gave in, but then there were lots of other things that I could and did want to watch. I've gone past the free trial, okay? The then question became what to watch, in what order. It totally made sense to watch Always Be My Maybe in May, along with To All the Boys I've Loved Before.

It appears that I can no longer view romantic comedies without being distracted by the main characters' trauma. And the supporting characters' trauma. 

I initially blamed it on all the trauma reading that I have done recently. I am more aware of signs and effects and it's not like turning my brain off is my best skill.

To be fair, I have kind of hated a lot of romantic comedies, as least in concept. The last one I really loved was While You Were Sleeping, from 1995.

Around the time that Julia Roberts was the queen of the genre, I remember reading an article pointing out that a lot of the class barriers and sexual mores that used to drive the genre were no longer in place. Because of that, the films often made the romantic obstacle that the characters were just jerks to each other. That can be hard to get behind.

(And some of them would have only taken a little more effort to fix, fyi.)

These two films were both cute and funny. The characters are generally sympathetic. I kept wanting to yell at the screen:

Can't you see how this is affecting him? Shouldn't somebody mention that?

There were dead mothers in both, plus other parental issues, so my tether might be a little shorter there. 

Then, as things get resolved, my brain is reminding me of what things are still going to come up without being directly addressed. I like to think that they have the commitment and the resources to work it out, but it's there.

Another movie I watched via Netflix was The Lovebirds, with Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae. I did better with that one. It was probably not technically a romantic comedy though. 

It started with the end of a really good date where there is an adorable resistance to parting. Then it fast forwards to where the relationship appears to be on the rocks, with heads constantly butting and poor communication. Absurd coincidences and bad luck (and realistically some poor decisions) give them a chance to realign and improve. 

Plus, there were no obvious parental issues. 

That can only help.

Displacement, children's books, and authors of Asian descent

I didn't read many children's books this time around, but I had thoughts about them because of possibly silly reasons.

One book was The Name Jar by Yangook Choi. 

Recently arrived from Korea, Unhei is going to pick an American name. Her new classmates put name suggestions into a jar while Unhei thinks more about names and learns more about her new neighborhood and class.

By coincidence, the last time around one of the books read was Juna's Jar, written by Jane Bahk and illustrated by Felicia Hoshino.

In this case, the jar holds many different things that Juna finds during the day and then shape her dreams at night. A move is the source of the conflict again, but in this case it is that Juna's friend Hector has moved away. Her loneliness is combined with worry about him, and the story follows her path to acceptance and being ready to make new friends.

At the time, I noticed it more because my kindergarten teacher sister had also brought home Jane Clark's Gilbert the Great, about a young shark mourning the departure of his best friend, a remora named Raymond. 

It can be hard being the one left behind; books that deal with that are important, even with different levels of realism and seriousness.

As it happens, the other book I read relatively recently also kind of dealt with that:

Fauja Singh Keeps Going: The True Story of the Oldest Person Ever to Run a Marathon, by Simrat Jeet Singh and illustrated by Baljinder Kaur.

Fauja Singh's story is about more than moving. He is unable to walk when young, and it affects his chances for schooling. Whatever he lacks in other ways he makes up for in sheer determination, eventually not just walking but running, and building a good life for himself and his family. 

Then, his children leave him behind; not losing contact, but not being near. When his wife dies, he goes to live with one child's family, leaving not just his home and village behind, but also his country and language. Running becomes a way of connecting, to people around him, and to the world beyond that.

It is a wonderful story, and possibly better for adults. With the others, I was thinking about loss and connection. I was reminded that there was another book about displacement in that first round of children's books, A Different Pond, written by Bao Phi and illustrated by Thi Bui. As a father and son fish at one pond in Minneapolis, the father talks about a different pond in Vietnam.

Displacement comes up often in the books for grown-ups too, but in these short and simple tales there is a lot of heart. They may be comforting for those grieving separations, young or old.

I should mention that I also -- in my Caldecott Medal reading -- read Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China by Ed Young. 

It is actually more like the story of the Wolf and the Kids than that of Red-Riding Hood, but red is a key color in the illustrations, and it works.

Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Reading Update

That just rolls off of the tongue, doesn't it?

I have previously only done one specific Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage month. I questioned how well I was doing it at the time, though it did mainly stick to the one month.

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2018/06/asian-pacific-american-heritage-month.html

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2018/06/apahm-2018-reading-and-asian-pacific.html 

Then, things fell apart more, but I did take notes when I read other things that I meant to get to.

This year, with increased violence against Asian Americans, it felt more important to practice and celebrate, but also, I am so behind where I want to be.

I have notes on books that I read in 2019 and 2020, and now even some that I have read in 2021. I am also not going to stop reading off of my list after this week of blogging. 

This week is just going to be about different things that have struck me, even as I read at least two relevant books this week that will probably not make it into this round of writing.

For the record, today I started one of 43 books left to read after having finished two others. I have at least three movies and a play I want to watch, after having finished four movies quite recently. 

My intention is that I will have completed all of those before next May. Then I will just dive into books by Margaret Dilloway and Gail Tsukiyama. Maybe binge the Fresh Off Boat television series, though maybe only the first three seasons? That would require some research.

Regardless, for all of the ways that I overextend myself and get too ambitious, that does feel achievable. The question then becomes whether I write about all of those at once. One of them is a physics book, and one is on permaculture. It's not always simple, but I always admit that.

I don't know quite how it will go. I do form little subsections. For example, some of the books seem to focus on the difficulty of relationships with your parents, and I will probably try reading those around the same time. They may inspire their own thoughts. 

Doing this has been an ongoing process. When I started with my first Black History month, it could easily have just been four books a month, one month a year. It wasn't, because I started realizing how much more there is to know and understand. Some of that is me being me, but I think many people could find similar effects.

That is one reason why I am now going through and looking at my old posts and coming up with a better list of recommendations. If you want a basic timeline of the history of slavery and its results, what books are good for that? What books are good for building empathy on a specific topic? That is a project that is still taking shape.

For now I will mention a few books that were not really a part of intended reading, but came up in other ways, reminding us of the messiness.

The Moral Economy of the Peasant: Rebellion and Subsistence in Southeast Asia by James C. Scott, finished July 9th, 2020.

I picked this up in the PSU bookstore many years ago, when I would just sometimes stop by and look around (between 1994 and 1996). I picked up too many books on impulse to read them all, but when I was doing some other economics reading I threw it in. It was in fact really interesting, with thoughtful comparisons made and good research data. For the record, economics is not always interesting.

Know My Name by Chanel Miller, finished August 15th, 2020.

Like many people I was touched by Jane Doe's letter to her rapist, Brock Turner. I am sure I would have read her book anyway. As it was, I read it in the middle of some feminist reading, specifically about rape culture, where it fit well. This is a good, human, and important book.

The Rainbow People written by Lawrence Yep, finished May 4th, 2021.

Perfect timing for this year's reading, but it happened because as I near the end of my Caldecott Medalist perusal, I was reminded of my love for David Wiesner's Tuesday. I decided to just check out whatever the library had that he had illustrated. That included this book of tales told by Chinese immigrants in the late 19th century. Serendipity.

And, for the most questionable one...

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat and illustrated by Wendy McNaughton. 

I finished the book on October 1st, 2017, and did not think of it as relevant reading. I signed up for Netflix to watch (among other things) Always Be My Maybe. Seeing there was a series for the book, I wanted to watch it, but also wondered if it would relate.

Nosrat was born in the United States, but her parents come from Iran. That is the Middle East. Does that go with the Far East? Afghanistan used to be considered to belong more with India and Pakistan.

Arab American Heritage Month is sometimes celebrated in April (I just learned that), but Persians are not Arabs. Sometimes Persians get March, but March is Women's History already. 

I could argue that that there is a need for a lot more understanding of all of the peoples and the history between them in the Middle East. 

It gets tricky. I know that, and I will keep working at it.

Sometimes it is amazing how much it takes.

Review Retrospective: Emo or Not Emo?

I am not even going to look up any of the old posts; I have written so much about emo and trying to understand emo.

For a brief recap, when I started listening to My Chemical Romance (first Review Retrospective!), there were constantly arguments in comments about whether or not they were "emo" and what emo actually means. I did not have a frame of reference.

I was excited to find a book about it: Andy Greenwald's Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo. I should not have been excited; the book misses a lot. I first finished it on December 23rd, 2012, and I still didn't have any confidence in the topic.

The book was still the key to my figuring it out. I eventually read the book again and listened to at least some music from every band mentioned in it, even when they were bands that were clearly not emo (like Pantera). Then, for the bands that I found more interesting, I listened to their entire discography.

I set myself up for failure by deciding to listen to all of Mogwai. One eerie instrumental song can be great, but a bunch in a row gets on my nerves. Even so, I should watch Before the Flood, an environmental documentary that features their music.

I have watched at least three movies because of this book. Speaking of that, Greenwald completely missed the point of Rich Egan's getting into the business because Greenwald did not know what was in Another State of Mind, which inspired Egan. I'm not saying Greenwald needed to watch the movie, but he should have asked more questions.

I found a lot of music I liked, but a lot of it was not emo. Of the bands chosen for the daily songs, the greater half are more traditionally punk, though emo springs from punk.

You see, punk -- which I love and has its own Review Retrospective -- tends to be political. Emotional Hardcore took some of that energy and applied it to personal issues. Then, other bands took that focus on self-reflection and slowed it down (possibly with more whining, but not every time). 

One of the big disagreements with emo is for people who think that word should be used for the hardcore versus slower, softer stuff. Then, later, when some bands who sang about sad feelings also wore a lot of black leather and heavy eyeliner, that got called "emo", but often as an insult. The other disagreements come from that.

The only real exploration of the disagreements I recall in the book is a reference to Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional (who is totally emo) not being comfortable with the term.

After having listened to hours and hours of music, there is a sound that I consider to be "emo", or perhaps two sounds. It is not the first wave of emotional hardcore, like Rites of Spring. You could easily just hear that as hardcore, and it is not infrequent for hardcore to have emotional elements.

It comes a little closer with the next round of Jets to Brazil and Sunny Day Real Estate, so totally bummed out music. When I hear The Promise Ring, yes, I know that is emo. However, when I am thinking emo the most representative band is probably The Starting Line. That is moving in a direction toward pop punk, but still feels more like emo than punk.

And in general, they dress more like Richie Cunningham than Edward Scissorhands. (Except with more tattoos.)

There is a strong element of DIY (Do It Yourself) in the punk ethos that does relate to the fashions, in that shopping at thrift stores was common. So, while "Buddy Holly" is not their most emo song, it makes sense that Weezer would have a video referencing Happy Days.

I'm not sure why the other look started getting the emo label, but there is always overlap. Fall Out Boy's music is not very emo, but their lyrics certainly were, at least for their early albums.

I realize this may not establish clearly in your mind what emo is. Part of the problem -- and I did realize this early -- is that a lot of the more prototypical bands are not well-known. That's why I did so much listening. What that accomplished for me is that when other people use the word -- even if they are not all using it the same way -- I can understand where they're coming from. (Even if they're wrong.)

It is not exactly rare for people to dispute genre classifications anyway; it happens more with this particular one. I am into knowledge and communication (and music), so understanding a word means something to me.

Other things came from the project. Because Rye Coalition (not emo) was the next band mentioned in the book after Mogwai (also not emo), and both Mogwai and Rye Coalition have werewolf songs, I became more aware of Halloween music possibilities. I have had some fun with that, but I am not done.

Nor am I done listening to bands. I still want to do full reviews of several bands from the book: Jawbox (kind of emo), FenixTX (kind of emo), Superdrag (not emo), Social Distortion (not emo), Face to Face (not emo), SamIam (emo), Allister (emo), The Rocking Horse Winner (emo), Something Corporate (emo), Frail (not the emo one, though that exists), and Finch (kind of emo).

At some point, I will really need to go through and listen to Say Anything, The Starting Line, and Saves The Day together, just to make sure I have them all straight. I don't think I do yet, but I finally have Jawbreaker and Jawbox sorted out.

Working on it.

Daily Songs:

“See If I Care” by Face to Face -- They are considered punk. I like the attitude of this song, though there is an emotion below it that belies the lyrics. I get that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXx3uRg8kIs

“On a Rope” by Rocket From the Crypt -- Once more, very punk. Irresistible rhythm on this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YQoK7Ff334

“Brandenburg Gate” by Anti-Flag -- Not emo, very punk. This song completely won me over at the time. It has faded for me a little as I realized that I respect the band more than I enjoy them, which is not the same thing. Still a pretty good song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWE4VXGMeIk

“What It Is To Burn” by Finch -- Less emo than some, but not completely unreasonable to call emo. Still, you can't help but notice more hardcore elements in this song of torment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLbHfOhJNR4

“Shoulder To The Wheel” by Saves The Day -- Yeah, they're pretty emo. In that genre, one of my favorites songs with a great energy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5eOwgzJmV0

“Shut Up” by Simple Plan -- Can reasonably be called emo. This didn't even come up from the book, but was suggested because of the other things I was listening to. I'm glad it was.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lpds3V90VbM

“Still Alive” by Social Distortion -- Social Distortion is pretty solidly punk, but this song is nonetheless very personal. There is hope and vulnerability and I love it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDcI8oKKWlM

Reading about education

My aversion to bigotry and fascism was reason enough for me to have been appalled by and focused on the school board elections.

Looking back, though, I can see where my earlier education-themed reading may have played a part.

It started with reading about residential schools, and also some references to decolonizing education and academia, but also with really responding to bell hooks.

There ended up being seven books:

A Third University is Possible by La Paperson

Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom by bell hooks

Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope by bell hooks

The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child by Donalyn Miller

Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paolo Freire 

Ghosts in the Schoolyard: Racism and Schools Closing on Chicago's South Side by Eve Ewing

(And then also I read two comics collections and a book of poetry from Eve Ewing and five children's books from bell hooks but those were not specifically related to education.)

Things don't always work out the way you think.

Let me just mention that La Paperson is an occasional pseudonym for UC San Diego's Wayne Yang, who was an editor on a book on decolonizing education that I read as a part of my Native American Heritage Month reading. The title was mentioned in one of the sections, and I found it intriguing.

I expected that it would be about distance learning, especially in response to residential schools. That seemed logical based on the material that referenced it, but it was not. It did still have information about rethinking education. 

In retrospect, the timing is also interesting. I finished the first three before the pandemic started, but only just before. Then, as I was reading more, education had been turned on its head. Now I reflect back on it after widespread attempts to move schools back to more racist and sexist and fascist.

It has been good to know that more is possible, and discouraging to see how determined some are to limit and crush.

Ewing's work was especially chilling, as so many of Chicago's school closures end up erasing history and diversity, trying to revert to a pre-Civil Rights Movement status quo. That is shown even in the names of the schools that get chosen for closure, and the names that go on the new schools.

Yes, we have people with that same goal right here. They are organized.

Then, with Miller's work, it is disturbing to see how many programs work to actually discourage learning and reading and intellectual development. I can't swear that's the goal, but it's alarming.

Fortunately, it was all balanced with hope. Regarding the ability of other people to learn and change -- even later in life -- Teaching to Transgress and Pedagogy of the Oppressed were probably the best. For those who seek to make things better, there was a lesson in A Third University is Possible as well.

When we break and repair systems, the new systems will also have flaws; we will not get everything right. So you address that, and you find new flaws.

As much as we keep getting wrong, we just need to keep trying. 

It does make sense to clarify goals. Some goals are incompatible, and some people with those goals will strenuously avoid admitting that.

Regardless, for all that has gone wrong and been wrong, I still believe in the chance to do better.

Accidentally, again, Black History Month

When I decided to focus on Black directors for 2019, it took a lot longer than I had planned, stretching well into 2020.

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2020/11/black-history-month-2019-black-directors.html

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2020/02/black-history-month-2019-overview-black.html

That was a great project, and I am fine with it going over. I did read some things at the same time, and I actually wrote an update about it in February of 2020, as well as some other events:

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2020/02/black-history-month-random-readings.html

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2020/02/black-history-month-2019-and-2020.html 

It felt like I wasn't really getting anywhere on books relevant to Black history that I intended to read, but as I started tracking works by Black authors and read by me, I realized there was more than I had thought

It mostly came out in ways I could not have predicted.

For example, I did a brief reading list related to education that it looks like I never blogged about. Given the times when I read the books, and how much farther apart than intended they ended up being, that makes sense. However, that involved reading from Eve Ewing and bell hooks.

With bell hooks, I specifically wanted to read two that mentioned teaching, but then I looked to see what else she has written, and saw a handful of children's books. I won't rule out some day reading everything by bell hooks, because her work inspires me. Without having the time for that then, I could still read the children's books.

Then, there wasn't just the one book by Eve Ewing, but also I'd read something about her writing for Marvel, so again, let's just see what all is out there, and there was poetry, as well as comics. I can read all those!

(Though two of the comics compilations are still on hold with the library, after a really long time. Still, The Crow finally came, so I am sure they will too.) 

It was reading about issues of fatness that led me to read Fearing the Black Body by Sabina Strings and Thick by Tressie Cottam McMillan.

It appears that my reading has become fairly integrated. When I am looking into any topic, I am aware of Black authors who have written on the topic. I like that.

I also still have enough that I still want to read and target that I am not ready to give up the months. Clearly they have become more than months, but that's okay.

It is questionable how much since it makes to go over a year's worth of reading as if it is for one month, but that may look different given the amount of time where I could not blog.

For now, tomorrow I want to go over that educational reading.

In June, for Black Music Month, I will request I Tina, The Beautiful Ones, and Le Freak from the library. These are technically from my music biography list, not my Black History list, but it works. 

Because of availability, I will also read A Promised Land and watch Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. I should try and watch One Night In Miami.

I will do an update after that. 

Then, I plan to focus on other lists, but pull in at least one book from the Black History list every month. 

Ideally, I will get caught up on the other lists by February 2022, and then I can really focus on that very long list. 

Things never go as planned, but sometimes the surprises and corrections are pretty good.

So I go on. 

Related post:

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2017/12/an-accidental-black-history-month.html

Native American Heritage Month 2019 and 2020

Here is another one where it is totally possible that I will do a great job with the 2021 reading, because it hasn't happened yet, and sometimes I have optimism that borders on delusions of grandeur.

As it was, the relevant books were read between October 11th, 2019 and December 16th, 2020. I was reading around the correct times. I probably could have done reasonable write-ups for at least 2019, but I was not blogging a lot at the end of 2020. It was probably more that the reading felt incomplete.

This is also an area where the lack of inter-library loan has greater impact; the amount of books on Native American history or issues that I want to read and that are specifically in the Washington County library system has less overlap. They are better for some of my other areas. But again, a lot of the books I end up wanting to read are Canadian. Canada has very similar colonization issues, but the books published by their university presses are less likely to end up on library shelves in the United States.

In this case, there are about 26 books that I will need to request through inter-library loan. However, I have gotten my second ILL book since the library reopening, and things look possible again. If I wait until November, will I be able to get them all requested and read that month? For sure no, especially as only five can be requested at a time. 

However, I don't have to read them all in one month. I will sort that out. 

I should note that I also have six URLs to check out for more books and authors to consider, but that will represent a transition to focusing more on contemporary works, and not just the history. It is part of the plane, but that is for 2022.

So, here are the books that did get read.

Children's books:

Young Water Protectors by Aslan Tudor, Fry Bread: A Native American Story by Kevin Noble Maillard, Birdsong by Julie Flett, When We Are Kind by Monique Gray Smith but illustrated by Nicole Neidhardt, When I Was Eight by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton and illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard.

Great pictures in Fry Bread that cast a wide and inclusive net. Aslan Tudor has been a young water protector, so that could be very empowering for some older kids, to know that they can participate and tell their own story. You may remember the Fentons, a mother/daughter-in-law team, from Margaret's stories of her time in residential school. I had missed one of the books previously. Kindness is a more obvious theme in When We Are Kind, but also an important part of Birdsong.

Young Adult:

I Can Make This Promise by Christine Day and Bear Walker by Joseph Bruchac.

I ended up really enjoying both of these. There were issues of friendship and family, with some heartache but plenty of happiness and connection and growth. It occurs to me that for adults who want to read more diverse novels but are not sure where to start, YA books can be a great point of entry.

Comic books:

Anthology One by Native Realities, This Place: 150 Years Retold by multiple authors, and Marvel Voices: Indigenous Voices #1 by Jeffrey Veregge and others. 

This Place was the award winner and deserved it. Not only were the individual segments good but they were tied together well. At the same time, most of those seem unlikely to be parts of continuing stories, which is not the case for the other two. Currently I am most interested in seeing more on Dani Moonstar and Jonesy.

Adult Fiction:

House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday.

The funny thing about this is that I really meant to read Medicine River this time around, but I got the titles mixed up. I would have read it sooner or later anyway. It is definitely more poetic, but also harder to be sure of how anything will turn out.

Non-fiction:

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxane Dunbar-Ortiz and You're So Fat: Exploring Ojibwe Discourse by Roger Spielmann.

You're So Fat is pretty thoroughly a linguistics book. While it is not totally inaccessible for non-linguists, it can be challenging. There is nonetheless a lot of interesting room for thought on the connection between the language we have and the thoughts we think, and it is also why I was familiar with "culturally relevant teaching" when that came up in the school board elections.

As for the history book, it was great. It is a better addition than Zinn, and could work well with Lerone Bennett Jr.'s Before the Mayflower. 

There you have it. It's not a lot to show for two years, but for one year's reading it's fairly respectable.

Related posts:

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2019/09/native-american-heritage-month-2018.html 

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2019/09/native-american-heritage-month-2018_17.html 

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2019/09/native-american-heritage-month-2018_19.html

Catching up on reading lists

This week I am doing some catch-up on what happened with my various reading lists. 

I have written about how my mother requiring more care affected my music listening and reviewing. In fact, the care giving had an impact on almost every aspect on my life, including reading. 

Beyond that, the pandemic interrupted library service for a time. Even after it restarted, I guess they were willing to process inter-library loans sooner than I felt comfortable asking. That doesn't affect everything, but often the books I plan to read are somewhat obscure, possibly for being academic in nature, or having been printed in Canada, or something like that.

I did some panic buying. It was only on discounted books, but it was mostly wasted because I haven't read the majority of those buys yet. For some it will help.

This week -- as I sort out some other things -- I am going to go over the months that have gone by, what I have managed, and what is next.

Prior to the bottom dropping out of everything, I had expanded my ambitions. It felt like I was always behind. I decided to read everything on the existing lists, regardless of how long that took. Then in the future I could look for newer things. 

I mean, I did know it wouldn't go as planned, but I didn't know how badly.

And yet, what I find is that I did still read things, and I did keep track, and I have kind of been heading in the intended direction.

I have notes on books that would relate to Black History Month (February), Native American Heritage Month (November), and Asian-American Pacific Islander Heritage Month (May). The next few posts will go over the books that were read, and also the future direction, which is sometimes more complicated than others.

I do not appear to have read any additional books for Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15th through October 15th; I had initially thought it was just September), but that time period for 2021 has not happened yet, and I did keep it pretty well in 2019. 

As it was, I read almost everything that I meant to, plus a few extra things that came up. The book I didn't get to was one that had not been officially published yet, but was floating around as an academic paper. It should actually be out now for September 2021.

I added some books of course, and then I still have a lot of names of both writers and musicians from reading Sandra Cisneros that I do want to explore more.

So the plan starting this September 15th is to read that one that had not been published, plus four new books that I have learned about in the time since, and I want to find some good biographies for Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. I will probably read Caramelo by Cisneros, but save the rest of her writing and the long list of her inspirations for 2022. Perhaps I am not quite caught up, but it feels manageable.

Separately, on my project to look at all of the Caldecott medalists, I only have about fifteen left. Some of the honors books were also pretty popular.. I have noticed and learned a lot going through the medalists, so I have thought about going through the honors books as well. The problem is that some of the medalists have been so badly written (even with good art) and so racist that I can't quite summon the enthusiasm for it.

I wrote once about a list of various awards and organizations promoting diverse books. I have explored some of those resources, but did not come close to finishing, so I think I will be turning my attention there again.

There are still about 16 post 2016 election books, and 8 economics books plus a movie.

It is all still being worked on.

Related posts:

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2020/01/national-hispanic-heritage-month-2019.html

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2020/01/national-hispanic-heritage-month-2019_14.html

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2020/01/national-hispanic-heritage-month-2019_15.html

Review retrospective: Bands 501 - 600, 2018

This was my last full 100 reviews. I was definitely getting more tired, and I had technical issues, but I nonetheless managed to mostly get two reviews a week and to listen to lots of new bands. 

Looking over the names, one of the first memories that popped up was how much I hated Stever. That hatred means more to me now.

As I was trying to incorporate more diverse artists, using key months as a guideline, I did focus on some women artists for the last two weeks of March, Women's History Month. Two of them were great, and had come from recommendations through a feminist web community that I really liked. The daily songs will start and end with them. Another was not terrible, and then there was Stever.

It was not merely that I didn't like her music; I didn't, but that wasn't really the problem. 

It was not even completely that she was trying to do great things without apparently having much of a clue or realizing that a clue was lacking. That would merely be annoying.

No, it was really the way she took her inspiration from autism -- without studying autism -- so it could just be her metaphor of how she thought things should be.

There are real people who have autism. There is lots of bad information out there, that often corresponds with abusive treatment of real people.

I bet Stever loves Sia.

It is perhaps important to note that I was starting to become better versed in ableism at this time. I started caring deeply about racism and sexism fairly early. It took me longer to get there on homophobia and transphobia, and longer still on ableism. 

That doesn't mean it was previously okay with me, or that I would not have responded to blatant discrimination. For me, it was just a matter of learning more and listening to more voices. It was learning more about the kind of harm that happens, and how and why.

If I had reviewed Stever in 2014, I still wouldn't have liked her, but her name wouldn't still make me mad. I would just shrug.

Therefore, perhaps it makes sense that for those other two artists that were great, well, the songs have very progressive themes, let's say. Also, something I have learned, and I think I got there around 2018, is that you can't fight bigotry while still holding on to some. It just doesn't work.

I should mention it was not convenient that I was becoming so much more radically aware while my life was falling apart, but really, there is no way for either of those things to be convenient. In some ways, my life falling apart did highlight a lot of inequities, but that was more 2019.

I will say that when I was physically assaulted at a concert that I really needed for respite, I was completely aware of the socio-political roots of that specific interaction, but it didn't help. 

Daily songs:

“Fight Like A Girl” by Emilie Autumn -- Electrifying. That was my first reaction. There is also a version where the song is combined with Rowan Farrow's reporting that also works well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvOXuZwOEvM

“Song That Needs to be Sung” by Songs That Need to Be Sung -- It was never clear if this was supposed to be one band or many bands working together. They clearly wanted to have a channel of protest music, and they got two songs. I get why they wanted it though.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I8HkL5GpmQ

“These Train Tracks” by The Alpacas -- I appreciated the emphasis on coming together and reconciliation via nature and for the purpose of growth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYv5kws2wd0

“Bang the Lid” by Delta Deep -- I love the guitars and rhythm on this. It's not always deep.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zoet081rbsY

“Believe” by Palaceburn -- I felt like I should have known about the band sooner. Very powerful. Glad I found them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ORFuNGANaE

“Superficial” by Sharp/Shock -- I started listening to them in advance of the concert, and really liked them. Somehow it is just a relief that it didn't ruin my liking them, because I still like Alkaline Trio, but what happened is always at the back of my mind with them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVgk2XAScxg

“Antipatriarca” by Ana Tijoux -- Theoretically, I could choose this for the title alone, but there is more to it than that. Rhythmically great, but great message.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoKoj8bFg2E

Related posts:

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2018/03/band-review-stever.html

https://www.newsweek.com/music-sia-movie-autism-controversy-maddie-ziegler-1569289 

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2018/10/concert-review-alkaline-trio.html

Different potential directions

I really need to start writing about things other than school board elections, despite their continued importance.

These past two weeks have reminded me of many political and social issues, their connections to each other, and how the pandemic changed many things but not everything. It would make sense to write more on those topics.

The Sunday blog got hijacked by the school board elections too, but it had been working on individual paths for fighting white supremacy. (White supremacy trying to take over school boards was very legitimately related.) I know I will be picking up on that again.

Prior to switching to election coverage, I was writing about my own personal healing and growth. There is more to write there. It would make sense to get back to that.

I am also getting closer to the conclusion of the retrospective of my music reviews. That might be a reason to get back to doing new reviews. That is especially tantalizing in that two artists that I have intended to review will be performing soon. 

Jake Shimabukuro will be doing a live stream next week, though watching it would require registering for AARP; I am not sure that I want to see him enough for that. In addition, Redlight Romeos have a show in a month, in person but with restrictions. I haven't seen live music since early March 2020. It's tempting.

That reminds me that I have not kept up with my various reading months, though I have tracked the books I have read. Perhaps it is a good idea to close out May with some focus on Asian American heritage.

Of course, I am still in transition. I don't know what my new job will be, or how much time it will allow for listening to music, or how much it will take out of me mentally. I needed this recovery phase, but I want out of it now.

Getting back to writing about personal growth may be the fastest path to that.

Without writing more, it seems that self-care will be my final frontier, and that a lot of that will be focusing on rest, and planning for adequate sleep. 

Accidentally sleeping in is too stressful to be self-care, and not helpful when you have a job to get to.

I know tomorrow will be the retrospective for bands 501 through 600. Beyond that, I am not sure.

School Board Elections: Results

I have spent most of my day on hold (not related to this), so just a short update.

I did find an article about how weird this year has been, election-wise. I think it is missing a lot, but it is something:

https://www.pdxmonthly.com/news-and-city-life/2021/04/the-strangest-election-in-america-right-now-is-this-portland-school-board-race

Nonetheless, the Portland School District candidate who was known for promoting QAnon stories, Margo Logan, lost by a large margin. That seems worth celebrating. 

One of the pro-bigotry candidates did win in Roseburg for sure, and it looks like one for the Portland Community College Board too.

It is impossible to track it all. However, the better candidates swept Beaverton School District. I do feel good about that.

Hillsboro currently shows as 2 and 2, with margins so close that I imagine there will have to be a recount. 

One thing the PDXMonthly article pointed out was that this past time period, between the pandemic and Trump presidency and attempts to continue that presidency despite the will of the majority of the votes has really tired people out. It has also made people of color more wary to come forward.

I understand that completely, but the bigots appear to be indefatigable. They will keep putting more candidates forward, and continue spreading lies.

That means everyone else needs to step up.

We need to understand our own issues with racism, sexism, and homophobia, but also ableism and every other way that some try to exert power over others.

We need to step in when abuse is being directed against people of color.

We need to support good candidates. Sometimes that may mean being candidates.

I cannot adequately express how tired I am all the time. I would really rather not have to think about this. 

Because I care about people, I have to think about it anyway, but if we all do it together, maybe it won't be so bad.

School Board Elections: At the deadline

The deadline for ballots is today at 5:00 PM. Realistically, most people have already voted and turned in their ballots. I will still say it one more time:

For Beaverton School District, please vote for Susan Greenberg, Karen Pérez-Da Silva, Sunita Garg, and either LeeAnn Larsen or Ugonna Enyinnaya.

For Hillsboro School District, please vote for Erika Lopez, Mark Watson, Nancy Thomas, and Jaci Spross.

 

Here are some personal thoughts on this election day.

 

Obviously, I have taken this election to heart. 

 

I would like to think that tomorrow will show that the not aggressively racist candidates won, bringing a sense of relief. That is not really a possibility. 

 

That is not a sense of doom about these specific candidates, because it is so much bigger than two school districts.

 

I know that other nearby school districts also have candidates running on the same platform, but I have not been able to keep track. Another person had posted information for fifteen districts, but it is not clear if they had complete candidates in every district. I also know that there are more districts, and other states, and a level of organization that we do not have.

There are two specific problems there, beyond people who are not actively malicious forgetting to expect it of others.

One is the weakening of the press, where there are fewer resources for local issues, and possibly less interest in covering them. When a Trump booster is traveling to multiple states teaching followers how to win local elections, it goes beyond a local story. Someone still has to notice and track it down and have the support of editors. There are several weak points there, and more than one issue influencing that, though there are some important economic issues. 

I am proud of the writing I did, but my resources are limited, as is my reader base. I would have loved to have been able to link to well-written news articles about what was going on, and that gave a better idea of how far it was spreading. 

The lack of press coverage was not nearly as disappointing as seeing the bigotry be welcomed with open arms by members of my church. Trying to reach out -- even to people I know -- was so ineffective as to be heartbreaking in its scope. What is wrong with my people? Primarily whiteness, insulated by privilege, and fragile to cracks in their insulation.

I mean, I do know the answer, but I hate it. 

 

Hopes for this election needed to reside not in appealing to the kindness and goodness of those who claim to follow Christ, but in hoping that other people can be mobilized to protect queer kids. I will be horrified if that did not work out, but even if the election goes better than expected, the disappointment in church members has cut deep.

There is some satisfaction in feeling like I did what I could. I have acted with integrity and been true to my values. 

 

I clearly need to be better connected if I want to really do good. At this transitional point in my life, that requires some thought. 

 

Moving forward, for well-meaning white liberals, we need to do better. We need to be more organized. We need to deal with our own racism, and make looking at systemic and structural racism a normal part of conversation. (Critical Race Theory can help with that, which is why they hate it so much. Don't forget.)

 

We may all need to spend the next few years fighting school boards, and bringing in state and federal government and the ACLU if necessary. 

 

Those are things that can be done. You can fight elected officials if you need to, but it is so much better to at least have elected those who intend to do good. There are enough obstacles with budgets and habits getting in the way. 

We don't need recidivists.

School Board Elections: Still lying

There has been one other common talking point among the anti-Critical Race Theory, anti-sex education, "Get those kids back in school no matter what!" candidates:

I keep seeing references to Oregon having the worst schools; we don't.

Granted, a ranking a 37 is nothing to brag about, but most of the schools below us (except for Nevada) are in the South. Moving to a more racist, sexist, ignorant curriculum seems unlikely to move us up in the rankings.

Also, in the most recent reports, Oregon was among the most improved states. If we are heading in a good direction, how do we know that these candidates won't disrupt that?

Beyond that, it can become a very complex subject. Even if we agree on what counts as a "good" education, there can be a lot of room for disagreement on how to deliver it and how to measure that delivery. Bush himself might not defend "No Child Left Behind" now.

I was very interested in a Twitter thread a while back, expressing that where we are in our knowledge of public education is equivalent to where astronomy was in the time of Ptolemy. It is a relatively recent thing to have public schools where any child can get an education and is expected to have an education.

We don't necessarily know the best way of doing it. That's worth taking some time to think about.

A fairly recent trend was to gear everything toward what will make children grow into good workers, but that ignores how quickly technology changes. Teaching them how to learn, and how to be healthy and how to spot disingenuous rhetoric might be more valuable.

What did you learn in schools? What has retained its value? What do you wish you had learned, but didn't?

Remember, for a long time the lesson of public schools was that Black people weren't worth as much, based on school funding. Then the attempt to correct that sent a lot of white people to private schools and charter schools, or at least neighborhoods at a significant distance from any communities of color. That resulted in a need to fight hard against busing.

There is a reasonable discussion to be had on what "good" schools should be, and how we will know when we have them.

But here should be no surprises that some people will still go hard for racism, or that they get offended when you point that out.

Besides, while some candidates are trying to use coded language and vague answers to avoid admitting it, we know what they want:

• Children should not know anything about sex that their parents don't tell them (technically not possible, regardless of school policy), including knowing how to get help in case of sexual abuse.
• There should be no affirmation or validity for anything but straight, cis, students.
• The students we affirm should also be white.
• But we need these wonderful white kids out of our houses during weekdays, even if it spreads disease.
• We must not have any discussion that leads to understanding the root causes of these ideas.
  

This is not the future that our students deserve.

 

For Beaverton School District, please vote for Susan Greenberg, Karen Pérez-Da Silva, and Sunita Garg, and either LeeAnn Larsen or Ugonna Enyinnaya. (Some voters really resent not having a suitably racist candidate for Zone 5.)

For Hillsboro School District, please vote for Erika Lopez, Mark Watson, Nancy Thomas, and Jaci Spross.

Ballots are due May 18th. There's not much time.

Review Retrospective: Stevie Wonder

I first reviewed Stevie Wonder in February 2017. He was among the artists reviewed for Black History Month that year:

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2017/02/band-review-stevie-wonder.html

Wonder was definitely releasing songs during my youth, though he'd had a long career before that. Even now a lot of the songs that I respond to most are from about 1985 to 1995, but an important part of listening to everything was finding out how much more there was.

In that first review, I mentioned about twenty songs. I knew I would have to do more.

The next step was spotlighting him with the daily songs. Starting with "Happy Birthday" on Martin Luther King Day 2019, I gave him all of the slots through Valentine's Day, for a total of of 25 songs.

I knew that eventually I would need to listen more, and started to realize that what I really needed was a playlist. That way I could easily periodically refresh my memory on how many songs I liked, and which.

So, even though he has had many song of the day, it was clear that he needed his own post on the retrospective.

Getting here was a lengthy process. I had listened to the whole catalog -- or at least thought I had -- back in 2017. When I went back to do it again, I started with The Complete Stevie Wonder, over 39 hours, and containing 579 songs.

I was sure that I had not heard some of it before, especially some of the live tracks. What I remember most was that I had no memories of "Tomorrow Robins Will Sing", even though I had definitely listened to that album. Maybe I just needed it more later. I played it on election day 2020, with hope.

Then I went through the studio albums again, taking notes. This week I have been going through the notes.

One thing I find is that there are songs that I want to highlight that are not necessarily my favorite, but I still feel their importance. Maybe I don't even want them in the playlist, but I want to remember they exist, because there will be situations that they fit. Perhaps listening to all of Stevie Wonder every few years is just a necessity for me.

Listening this round built on to the earlier review, expanding my understanding from before. 

It struck me in 2017 that "Sir Duke" was a tribute that came after death prevented them from collaborating. That should feel mournful, but it is such a joyful song. Putting that with "Happy Birthday" for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., maybe a part of Stevie Wonder's genius is to face a loss and be able to celebrate what was gained from that presence. Sometimes I have a hard time not focusing on the loss, so I can learn from that.

Another thought was that once again listening to "Don't Drive Drunk", that is a weird song and feels like completely the wrong tone. I wondered if it were a misfire, but it is on the soundtrack to The Woman in Red, which I suspect would be a very annoying movie. Is the song a misfire if the things that are weird about it work with the movie it was supposed to?

I probably should watch at least one of the movies he composed for, to better appreciate that aspect. 

The daily songs for this week will not include a lot of my favorite songs, but they have already been songs of the day, in 2017 and 2019, and it felt right to focus on some of his message songs.

Daily songs:

”Happy Birthday” by Stevie Wonder -- It would make so much sense to pair this with "Sir Duke", but it also makes sense to pair it with these historical songs, even though the next one was not yet about history when it came out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcVZfJO01NI

“It's Wrong (Apartheid)” by Stevie Wonder -- Released in 1985, nine years before it would end, Wonder was also arrested that year for protesting at the South African embassy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbG3zIs4Q4E

“Black Man” by Stevie Wonder -- There are still so many people who will try and erase history, and then complain about history being erased.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCX2o7zOzg8

Then, there is kind of a shift from the past to the future, with songs focusing on hope and love. But not "Positivity"; I thought that might be over the top.

“Take Up A Course In Happiness” by Stevie Wonder -- I didn't think this one was going to stick, but it kept coming back to me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doUSykutK1w

“Tomorrow Robins Will Sing” by Stevie Wonder, featuring Edley Shine -- Using it for an election again, this time for local school boards. Speaking of people who want to erase history!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzgP0xlycz0

“Conversation Peace” by Stevie Wonder -- Preparation for war does not bring peace.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNzCj5ZiU14

“A Time To Love” by Stevie Wonder featuring India.Arie -- Is it time yet? Are we ready for this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WtI2kcywM4

School Board Elections: Choosing directions

It has been tricky writing about something where I know I am just seeing the tip of the ice berg; I know there is so much more. 

It feels more comfortable when I can be specific, but if someone in a different district -- or even a different state -- is reading, I want it to be helpful for them too.

One struggle has been even knowing what to call them. There are points in favor of using the term "conservative". I could say "Republican-leaning", though I bet a lot of the candidates identify as Libertarian or Independent. 

The most recent thought was "recidivists".

For the purposes of clear communication, that isn't great, because there is no familiarity with the term being applied to them. Therefore, the real problem is that there hasn't been enough discussion on this for there to be familiarity with any term. 

I do want to take a moment to get into why "recidivists" came to mind.

In general, that word is for anyone going back to an old behavior. There is also some connotation of them being criminals, as "recidivism" gets used more in conversations about crime and corrections.

Since Trump announced his candidacy, racists have been getting louder and prouder. A lot of conservatives didn't like the vulgarity, but the ones who have embraced it have been more prominent. Ask Liz Cheney, who is not a particularly progressive person.

For conservatives who didn't embrace Trumpism -- some of whom have been having a hard time, I know -- there still needs to be an acknowledgment that the racism has been there for quite some time. That goes back before Trump.

Even people who look at the glory days of the party as back when it was Ronald Reagan... Ronald Reagan got a big push for his campaign by speaking on state's rights near Philadelphia, Mississippi, where three Civil Rights workers were murdered. 

That was what we call a dog whistle, and Lee Atwater, Republican consultant and strategist, was the king of dog whistles. That made turning the "War on Drugs" into a means of racist control really easy. That it was a war against Black and brown people was hidden by the word "urban".

That goes back to 1980, 41 years ago. (Though you could make arguments likening Trump to Barry Goldwater, going back further.) Was moving from dog whistles to bullhorns the right progress to make?

Beaverton School Board candidate Jeanette Schade was just on Glenn Beck and has all sorts of new fans from it. Is that what we want?

Schade also denounced the false story that she received a donation from the Proud Boys, because it was just someone who spoke with a Proud Boy at a Trump rally. Is that the influence we want?

If you want conservatism that isn't sociopathic, that may be a possibility, but it is going to require some serious honesty and soul searching. The party is not currently there.

So what do you choose?

Do we want to move forward, with greater equality, greater valuing of individuals, and at least minimal consideration for each other?

Or do we want to stand with the January 6th insurrectionists?

So many times I have written that something was an oversimplification, but this really isn't. Candidates may seem to be going in a direction that you like, but they are not moderates. They have an agenda of bigotry.

This choice should be easy. 

Ballots are due May 18th.

For Beaverton School District, please vote for Susan Greenberg, Karen Pérez-Da Silva, and Sunita Garg, and either LeeAnn Larsen or Ugonna Enyinnaya. We are just lucky that whoever was recruiting for Beaverton missed Zone 5.

For Hillsboro School District, please vote for Erika Lopez, Mark Watson, Nancy Thomas, and Jaci Spross.

Other districts: Look for candidates against sex education and critical race theory, and in favor of opening schools full time immediately. Actively vote against them.

And if you were just going to ignore school board elections, or know other people who were going to do so, please reconsider. This matters.

School Board Elections: Budget Allocation

This post requires more extrapolation. It is still important enough that I at least want to put it out there.

In this case, there is more detail from the Hillsboro School Board candidates, but you see some of the same key words with the Beaverton candidates.

https://communitiesforsensibleschools.org/our-values/

I'd like to draw attention to the "Prepare" section, with the focus on honors and accelerated programs, as well as sports and extra-curriculars. Also, it talks about increasing the rigor to "better prepare high schoolers for life after graduation".

I started in the Talented and Gifted program in the Beaverton School District in 4th grade, when it was still pretty new. I took many accelerated classes, ending in earning a total of 51 AP credits by the time I graduated. I also participated in many extracurricular activities. I enjoyed those experiences for the most part. I am not automatically opposed to those opportunities being available. 

However, a lot of students can't benefit from those. They don't have the economic means, or the parental support. Perhaps they need to work, which I also did. It did affect my participation, though I was still able to do a lot.

Gifted programs have been turning more and more into a marker of elite status. Please remember that a lot of testing that we used was based on cultural competency, so biased in terms of class and race. Even though that is better understood now, I don't know that the tests have changed that much.

I cannot help but feel that the emphasis on gifted programs and such are for the better off parents, hoarding resources for their children. 

The expanded information I have seen on at least one candidate page is a mention of shop and trade programs. Our smart kids will earn college credit early, and other people's inferior kids can learn how to fix things. 

There's nothing wrong with knowing how to fix things. There is also no reason why brick layers can't appreciate dance, or plumbers shouldn't enjoy reading and writing poetry, and that mechanics shouldn't have exposure to different kinds of art.

It also seems worth noting that the newer schools with their confusing schedules and IB focus can really stress students out. Maybe some do better, but those students tend to have parents with means. Perhaps combining regular high school with community college course work can be their solution; that is how Rebecca Skloot first heard of Henrietta Lacks, leading to her award-winning book.

The Hillsboro candidates also talk about smaller class sizes, which I am not sure they can deliver; that's a budgeting thing. Except, they also mention "streamlining the business of education", which sounds ominous. Maybe for them that means lots of staff for the honors curriculum, and then sweat shops where everyone else learns blue collar skills. 

The don't really specify, but being pressed on race does not produce satisfactory answers, and being pressed on homophobia and transphobia doesn't produce satisfactory answers, so my expectations are low. 

I do not want these people having any influence over our students.

And this new Beaverton school board will choose the next superintendent.

For Beaverton School District, please vote for Susan Greenberg, Karen Pérez-Da Silva, and Sunita Garg. While I do not think it is fair to hold the endorsement of the others against LeeAnn Larsen, I voted for Ugonna Enyinnaya, but either of them should be fine. We are just lucky that whoever was recruiting for Beaverton missed Zone 5.

For Hillsboro School District, please vote for Erika Lopez, Mark Watson, Nancy Thomas, and Jaci Spross.

If you are in other districts, it can be pretty easy to know which candidates are which. Look for candidates against sex education and critical race theory, and for opening schools full time immediately, and actively vote against them.

And if you were just going to ignore school board elections, or know other people who were going to do so, please reconsider. This matters.

Ballots are due by May 18th.

School Board Elections: Sex Education

This has been one of the more confusing areas for figuring out the concerns expressed by certain candidates. After a lot of reading, I have figured out that it is because they are lying.

This should not have been a surprise. On a regular basis, someone from church (possibly but not definitely a current candidate) would raise a fuss about the new curriculum teaching kindergarten children how to masturbate or something like that. 

It was always so clearly false that I didn't worry about it, assuming that the real issue was that the curriculum was not abstinence only, and that you were never told that masturbation would make you go blind.

For this topic, I am going to focus on Beaverton Schol District. I will mention that the Hillsboro School District candidates use a lot of the same phrasing, which I don't think is a coincidence. 

It would be very easy to be flippant, and I don't want to do that. In fact, this is a very important topic.

It is also pretty easy to be educated on, because all of the information is on-line, and in the offices, and available at Back-to-School night.

https://www.beaverton.k12.or.us/departments/curriculum-instruction-assessment/health-curriculum-project-team

I am grateful to the voters who used this material to try and pin down one of the candidates on her claim that schools were teaching sixth graders about oral sex. First she equivocated that it was actually fifth grade, but even the phrase that she included -- which is not in the material -- was pretty innocuous, in that in referring to penetration it mentions orally and anally, as well as vaginally.

The objection was that once a child knows that oral is a thing, they may start thinking about it and wanting to know more.

I think it is naive to think that fifth and sixth graders won't have previously heard that oral sex is a thing. It is a wide world out there with lots of different people and music and video clips and so many ways that it can come up. 

This is what I want to be very clear: you want your children hearing about it from you or from teachers before they hear about it from friends.

I am going to divert a bit to one of the reasons behind how the curriculum is chosen:

http://www.erinslaw.org/erins-law/

“Erin’s Law” requires that all public schools in each state implement a prevention-oriented child sexual abuse program. That includes training the school personnel, who are mandatory reporters, but it also means giving students the tools to know if someone is doing something wrong to them, making sure they have the words to ask for help, and that there are people they can ask for help.

Yes, that means little children, who may need protection from their parents or grandparents. We don't like to think about it, but it happens. 

It may also mean teenagers who might be assured that some things are just playing around, and normal making out, because after all you can't get pregnant from it, so is it even really sex? Because being told that oral and anal don't count is a thing.

I am all for chastity, but that is not for the schools to teach. That is for parents and church leaders, and you will have to do it by being able to explain the benefits, not by relying on ignorance and fear.

The ignorance and fear leaves children at risk for abuse. 

I don't support anyone who supports that.

There are two other things that seem worth noting. 

The anti-Comprehensive Sexuality Education candidates keep mentioning a "robust" opt-out. There are pretty clear and accommodating options for opting out, including some materials developed with BYU. I am pretty sure any way of making it more "robust" would become an obstacle for most students. I think it's disingenuous, and I am still not surprised.

The other thing that seems pretty clear, especially with the support of Oregon Family Council and Free Oregon, is that part of the objection to CSE is that it will not specifically stigmatize LGBT students. Beaverton and Hillsboro candidates have shown great skill at avoiding direct questions, but I do not trust them with queer students, just as their opposition to Critical Race Theory means I don't trust them with students of color, and some of their statements about programs means that I don't trust them with poor students.

Fortunately, they are not the only ones running. 

For Beaverton School District, please vote for Susan Greenberg, Karen Pérez-Da Silva, and Sunita Garg. While I do not think it is fair to hold the endorsement of the others against LeeAnn Larsen, I voted for Ugonna Enyinnaya, but either of them should be fine. We are just lucky that whoever was recruiting for Beaverton missed Zone 5.

For Hillsboro School District, please vote for Erika Lopez, Mark Watson, Nancy Thomas, and Jaci Spross.

If you are in other districts, it can be pretty easy to know which candidates are which. Look for candidates against sex education and critical race theory, and for opening schools full time immediately, and actively vote against them.

And if you were just going to ignore school board elections, or know other people who were going to do so, please reconsider. This matters.

Ballots are due by May 18th.

School board elections: Opening schools

For the elections I have been focusing on Critical Race Theory, but that is not the only thing binding candidates across multiple districts. I want to spend this week focusing on the various parts of their platforms, giving each their due.

One consistent issue in Beaverton and Hillsboro, but also huge in Sherwood and West Linn-Wilsonville, is opening up schools, right away, five full days per week.

I can't track every school district, obviously, but I am doing some research and some trends stand out. 

That includes some candidates being actively recruited but dropping out later. This includes one in West Linn-Wilsonville and three in Hillsboro.

I only know about the three in Hillsboro because a friend was canvassed in February (a month after Scott Presler was here, could still be a coincidence) and there was a slate of four candidates for Hillsboro School District at that time.

The only person remaining from that slate is Monique Ward. The others apparently dropped out and were replaced by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 

Regardless, one of the key points the canvassers were making in February -- before vaccine roll-out had increased, and when weather would have posed additional obstacles to ventilation -- was that if they could, they would have the schools open for five full days right then.

It seems more reasonable when they say it now, but I have some concerns.

First of all, I appreciate that they say they want to follow the science. I am concerned that they have a different concept of what that means than I do.

Beaverton School District candidate Saralynn Dougall has cited information from The Epoch Times, Spiked-Online, and Charlie Kirk. These are all far right, and known for not being particularly accurate. Of course, she has also referred to the anti-LGBT Oregon Family Council as a source for truth; it's not surprising. 

Also, because she has deleted everything I have posted on her page, rather than engaging with it, I have doubts about the likelihood of her listening to science that does not say what she wants to hear. I have these same doubts about the other candidates.

Let's look at some of the potential concerns about opening. 

They have mentioned activities like sports a lot. I get it; our society is built in such a way that after you graduate from high school your opportunities for playing sports, performing in plays, and going to formal dances goes way down. However...

https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/06/health/youth-sports-covid-spread-wellness/index.html

It turns out that sports are a hard thing to do safely. If you think about it, it makes sense. You run into some of the exact same issues with theater and dances. Honestly, having students eat lunches together is probably really dangerous. 

Over the past two weeks, Washington County has reported 1237 total cases. More people are getting vaccinated, but there are still enough people out there who are capable of spreading -- and enough people not taking precautions seriously -- that there is still a lot of danger, especially as the virus mutates.

I understand concerns about the students' mental health, but that is assuming that the only possible negative impact on students is not being able to see their friends and do activities. Do you think students will have any feelings if they see their teachers getting sick and dying? Do you think they might feel some guilt if they find family members or friends getting sick after returning to school?

(For myself, the clear lack of concern for teacher safety has been very disturbing.)

There had previously been the belief that young people are less likely to catch the disease, but let's not forget that one of the early casualties last April was the 5 year old daughter of two first responders:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/21/us/detroit-girl-dies-coronavirus/index.html

Pediatric COVID cases in the US passed the 1 million mark in November. It is wonderful that the vast majority of them have lived, but they would have been better off not getting sick.

https://www.aappublications.org/news/2020/11/16/covid19children111620 

Yes, Beaverton School District students are more likely to be facing other kinds of loss, but those losses are not necessarily helped by schools being open:

https://time.com/5953001/covid-orphans/

I want schools open safely too; I just question how much those words mean the same thing for us. 

I think there are too more links that are important.

Viral Visualizations: How Coronavirus Skeptics Use Orthodox Data Practices to Promote Unorthodox Science Online

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2101.07993.pdf

Media Has Ignored The Anti-Vax Movement's White Supremacist Roots

https://readpassage.com/media-has-ignored-the-anti-vax-movements-white-supremacist-roots/

I don't know that any of the candidates are specifically against regular vaccinations, but they certainly seem to run parallel to Coronavirus skeptics in some important ways, and there are definitely some parallels with white supremacy.

Do you want these people in any position of power over schools?