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Tag Archives: feminism

Dr. Harriet Fraad on Family Life Under the Capitalist Mode of Production

27 Fri Nov 2015

Posted by ztnh in Anti-Capitalism, Feminism, Microeconomic Analysis, Mindfulness, Social Theory, Sociology

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Angry White Men, Dr. Harriet Fraad, Economic Update, feminism, KPFA, Marxism, Michael Kimmel, Nation Books, Pacifica Radio, The Indypendent, transcript

Economic UpdateLUMPENPROLETARIAT—Dr. Richard Wolff has interviewed Dr. Harriet Fraad, a recurring guest on Economic Update, in the wake of a new study by two noted economists.  As broader socioeconomic changes restructure gender politics within the capitalist mode of production, many men, particularly middle-aged white males, are facing depression and worsening mortality rates, as they struggle to adapt to demoted positions in society and in the home. [1]

Dr. Fraad, as a mental health counsellor, asks the dominant culture to reconceptualise male gender roles, so that men may learn to take pride in home-making and contributing to the domestic work load, which has often been degraded by our hitherto patriarchal society.  Dr. Fraad and Dr. Wolff also help us understand the structural or societal aspects of many socioeconomic challenges, which millions of individuals often internalise as personal failure.  This is a timely and important discussion.  This type of informed discussion helps individuals, families, and communities find common ground across gender, ethnicity, and other socioeconomic markers toward healthier outcomes for all.  Please listen (or download) here. [2]

Messina

***

ECONOMIC UPDATE—Welcome back to the second half of Economic Update for this Thanksgiving Day Weekend 2015.  I’m very proud to have with me, again, and, partly, by the way, because so many of you have written in asking me to bring back Dr. Harriet Fraad, who is a mental health counsellor and a hypnotherapist with a private practice in New York City.  And she also writes prolifically in a variety of places on politics and economics and how they intersect and interact with personal life.  And that’s, indeed, why I wanted her to join with us today because, as she will explain, there’s been some recent research, that has really touched precisely on the interaction of economics and personal life.  And, so, this is a perfect opportunity to explore that.  Thank you very much, Dr. Fraad, for joining us.”

DR. HARRIET FRAAD:  “I’m glad to be here.”

DR. RICHARD WOLFF:  “So, tell us, if you will, in a few words, what is this new research, who performed it, and what, basically, does it tell us.”

DR. HARRIET FRAAD:  “Well, it’s a very recent study by […]”  [expanded transcript pending]

Learn more at ECONOMIC UPDATE.

***

[The following is an excerpt of a book review originally published by Dr. Harriet Fraad on 25 FEB 2014 at THE INDYPENDENT.  The book reviewed is Angry White Men written by Michael Kimmel and published in 2013 by Nation Books.]

DR. HARRIET FRAAD—It’s been a tough 40 years for working and middle-class white men in America. Accustomed to an exalted place in the social hierarchy, they have seen their wages stagnate and decline since the early 1970s. At the same time, women have gained unprecedented new freedoms and our society became more racially and culturally diverse.

Rather than adapt and change, many of these men cling to male dominance. Michael Kimmel, a professor of sociology and gender studies at Stony Brook University in New York, journeys deep into the worlds of his white male aggrieved subjects.

Kimmel has produced a masterful account of white men’s rage. He focuses on the sons of successful skilled craftsmen, small businessmen and small farmers disenfranchised by the corporatizing of America, mass production, outsourced work, mega-stores like Walmart and Home Depot and restaurant chains like McDonalds and Applebees.

Learn more at DR. HARRIET FRAAD.

***

[1]  The term capitalist mode of production is used by many within the discipline of economics, primarily within the subset known as heterodox economics, to denote capitalism.  In my training, and having graduated with honours with a degree in Economics from the heterodox economics department at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, I have come to view the term as the most appropriate way to denote capitalism.  (One of my economics professors, Dr. Erik Olsen, actually had Dr. Richard Wolff as one of his professors and dissertation advisers.)  To simply refer to our current economic system as capitalism runs the risk of perpetuating the myth that our current mode of production and social organisation is somehow natural, necessary, or inevitable.  This, of course, is not true.  In the past, other forms of social organisation have existed and endured for long periods of recorded human history, such as feudalism, slavery, and other tribal forms of organisation not based on the extraction and accumulation of capital.  I know the term is a mouthful, as many of my non-economist friends have complained.  But it’s an important distinction we may overlook only at our own peril.

[2]  Dr. Richard Wolff’s interview with Dr. Harriet Fraad begins at minute 29:00 of the Economic Update broadcast.

***

[3 DEC 2015]

[Last modified  3 DEC 2015  10:38 PDT]

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“I Can’t Breathe” (2014) by Pussy Riot

07 Sun Jun 2015

Posted by ztnh in History of Rock and Roll, Music, Police State, Racism (phenotype)

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Eric Garner, feminism, Figure Eight Studios, international solidarity, Nick Zinner, Philip Weinrobe, police terrorism, punk rock, Pussy Riot

Pussy_Riot_by_Igor_Mukhin640pxWikiUserLUMPENPROLETARIAT—In a model demonstration of international solidarity, Russian punk rockers Pussy Riot have dedicated their first English-language song to American victim of police terrorism, Eric Garner.  Garner’s murder by police choke hold in the Summer of 2014 became, not just another national symbol of police terrorism, but an international call for anti-fascist solidarity.  I can’t breathe, Eric Garner pleaded with police, as they strangled the life out of him.

We know not all cops are bad.  Toward that fact, the public implores cops of conscience (if that’s not a contradiction in terms) to rise up in solidarity and refuse and resist the culture of fascism manifesting itself in police departments across the USA.  Once the public sees cops out protesting wanton killings of unarmed civilians by fellow cops, as we see military vets protesting bad military policies, then the public will have a sign indicating what we hope:  Not all cops are bad.  Not all cops are complicit in police terrorism against the citizenry.

—Messina

“I Can’t Breathe” by Pussy Riot

He’s become his death
The spark of the riots
That’s the way he’s blessed
To stay alive.

It never leads to an end
It’s never getting quiet
If it’s unfair, my friend,
Make up your mind

It’s getting dark in New York city
It’s getting dark in New York city
It’s getting tight in New York city
I need to catch my breath

You know this world of hate
You know this stubborn light
They’re in the prayers you pray
Late at night

We’re only half way down
Who dares to take a breath?
Some fairness might be found
From ashes of his death.

***

PUSSY RIOT VIDEO—Pussy Riot’s first song in English is dedicated to Eric Garner and the words he repeated eleven times before his death. This song is for Eric and for all those from Russia to America and around the globe who suffer from state terror – killed, choked, perished because of war and state sponsored violence of all kinds – for political prisoners and those on the streets fighting for change. We stand in solidarity.

Pussy Riot’s Masha and Nadya are being buried alive in the Russian riot police uniforms that are worn during the violent clashes of police and the protesters fighting for change in Russia. A pack of “Russian Spring” brand cigarettes is on the ground at the beginning. “Russian Spring” is a term used by those who are in love with Russia’s aggressive militant actions in Ukraine, and the cigarettes are a real thing.

“I Can’t Breathe” was recorded in New York in December 2014 during the protests against police brutality together with Pussy Riot, Richard Hell, Nick Zinner, Andrew Wyatt, Shahzad Ismaily (The Ceramic Dog) and Russian bands Jack Wood and Scofferlane.

MUSIC VIDEO:
Concept, directed and produced: Pussy Riot
Director of Photography and editor: Mikhail Vikhrov.

MUSIC:
Concept, produced: Pussy Riot
Vocals: Sasha Klokova (Jack Wood), Matt Kulakov (Scofferlane), Richard Hell
Lyrics: Matt Kulakov (Scofferlane)
Monologe of Eric Garner: Richard Hell
Bit: Andrew Wyatt
Piano, Bass: Nick Zinner
Drums: Shahzad Ismaily
Engineered and mixed by Philip Weinrobe at Figure Eight Studios in Brooklyn, NY

Learn more at PUSSY RIOT VIDEO.

***

[Last modified 09:19 PDT  7 JUN 2015]

[Image entitled “Pussy Riot by Igor Mukhin” by Игорь Мухин at Russian Wikipedia. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.]

[En sanctuarium, Sunday, June 7, 2015.]

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Chastity Belt Plays San Francisco’s Slim’s (29 MAY 2015)

30 Sat May 2015

Posted by ztnh in History of Rock and Roll, Music

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Chastity Belt, Childbirth, feminism, Julia Shapiro, Mary Oliver, No Regerts, RDM, Slim's (San Francisco)

ChastityBeltNoRegertsCoverLUMPENPROLETARIAT  Every once in a while, we hear a song of such great beauty that it speaks to, what poet Mary Oliver has called, “the soft animal of your body”. [1]  Every once in a while, we hear a song, which speaks to us, such that it reflects our personal pathos.  Such songs, we would have played by any who would care to throw us a funeral party after we’ve left Earth’s great ball.  “Black Sail” by Chastity Belt is one of those songs.

When comrade RDM first played for us Chastity Belt’s “Black Sail“, we instantly fell in love with their sound.  Chastity Belt may deservedly be categorised under the distinguished heading of artistically autonomous punk bands.

RDM & Chastity Belt, IMG_8368

RDM with Chastity Belt at Slim’s (San Francisco), 29 MAY 2015

I was sure sorry I had to miss their brilliant performance at San Francisco’s Slim’s last night.  (By the way, Chastity Belt opened for Wire.)  But I can’t complain.  I’ve enjoyed more than my fair share of brilliant musical performances at Slim’s (and many other excellent concert venues). [2]  Perhaps comrade RDM will be good enough to share with us his notes from last night’s show.  We thank him for his excellent photograph.

—Messina

“Black Sail” by Chastity Belt

***

PITCHFORK—(20 AUG 2013) The women in the Seattle indie group Chastity Belt met and formed in college, and their debut is sly and charming about college, and fresh-out-of-college concerns– how dumb the objects of your sexual desire can be; which parties suck, because of whom and what can be done about it; fucking and drugs, and how great and lousy both make you feel; the regressive fun to be had shouting the word “vagina.” “Are we having fun?” lead singer Julia Shapiro asks repeatedly on “Seattle Party”, and No Regerts is a great album by smart kids who are smart enough to understand how pressing that question is.

The vibe on No Regerts (the typo is intentional) is sprightly and relaxed. The members taught themselves their instruments, and you can hear uncertain hands and excellent, sophisticated ears in their playing. Lydia Lund’s rhythm guitar is slightly hiccupy but confident; Gretchen Grimm’s drumming is simple, but patient and sensitive and casually slack, like drumming is just one of several things she’s doing at that moment. On “Black Sail” and “Seattle Party”, her soft puff of a beat stretches the song out pleasingly in the center, like the band is all crowded in the middle of a trampoline.

Learn more at PITCHFORK.

***

Of course, lead singer Julia Shapiro went on to record more excellent music with Chastity Belt beyond their debut No Regerts.  Another notable recording is the following selection from Shapiro’s side-project, Childbirth, and that band’s debut album entitled, It’s a Girl!:

“I Only Fucked You As a Joke” by Childbirth

***

[1]  “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

[2]  Slim’s is a personal favourite because the venue is so small, only about 1,000 tickets are available per show; but the sound system is world class.  (Estimated reports of Slim’s capacity range from a few hundred up to one thousand.)

***

[Last modified/updated 23:37 PDT  30 MAY 2015]

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