2004-04-23 - 1:23 a.m.
The hell with it! I might as well start dividing history into before coffee/after coffee.
Speaking of Seattle, home of Starbucking, a photographer was fired today from there for taking some pictures of U.S. soldiers being flown back home in flag draped coffins. The public is not ready to see this so they had to get rid of him. The newspaper fired him immediately and I was surprised that Dan Rather even mentioned this b/c it implies how the media works or doesn't work under overarching power. If a journalist isn't willing to talk about three headed dogs or baseball and distract the public, then they better fire him before he becomes a problem and the F.B.I might have to assassinate him. They've been known to do it to Black Panthers. This jounralist must have slipped through the smooth indoctrination/castration process. He must have missed the ego distraction show and tell games of kindergarten.
In Kansas City in the 30's 40's there was this developer who came up with the idea for suburbs. His name was,If I remember right, J.C. Chester. There is an urge to separate people and keep them isolated. What starts out seeming like an action that keeps the peace turns into something that creates illusions of otherness. Either their skin color, body type or clothing preferences are strange and laughable maybe attackable.
This J.C. Chester guy built the first shopping malls and strip malls and wanted the rich to be distanced from the "common elements" of society. They moved about 10 miles Southwest of Kansas City. I remember reading that he even went so far as to change the street names; "A street name should have an exclusive ring and serve to evoke a pleasant atmosphere that distinguishes it from the rest of the town." Kansas City had a flourishing jazz scene at this time led by be-bop legend Charlie Parker and the city is more obviously remembered for musicians living around Blueberry Hill district than what J.C. called the Country Club Society. When people hear the words Kansas City, they think World's of Fun, Jazz and Jayhawk. It's all very optimistic in my opinion especially how these black musicians were thought to be powerless, the dregs of society who visited speakeasy's and prostitutes.
Likewise, I don't think that too many people outside of those families will remember the names of those soldiers who had their pine box pictures taken today. I realize that financial woes drive many American citizens into military service, but this is even less reason to believe that the United States represents the clear cut good.
