Lies
When they've safely tucked you into your bed
whisper would it matter if the bullet went through my head?
If it was my blood spilling on the kitchen floor
If it was my blood, Mommy, would you care a little more?
Don't be surprised when they turn and start to cry
Tell your mommy and daddy
Scream it to your mommy and daddy
They're living their lie lie lie
It's all a lie
Lie lie lie
Okay, busted. I've been listening to the Monkees. Mostly I've been fixated on the song "Mommy and Daddy" because it touches a deep inner conflict of mine. Who knew, right?
On one hand, I love this song's youthful, righteous indignation. As a teenager I would have screamed this song at the top of my lungs, feeling that I had made a real and valid point. Part of me still feels that way. But on the other hand (you have different fingers), I feel sorry for the parents in this scenario. Not that their complacency is acceptable, but I understand how easy it is to get worn down and start accepting lies as an inevitable part of life.
Last night Tom and I were discussing the phrase "ethnic cleansing". What is curious about this phrase is that it seems to have been needlessly softened- to borrow George Carlin's rant. First off, let's not fuck around. It isn't "ethnic cleansing" it's GENOCIDE! Ethnic cleansing sounds like you're taking everyone to the spa for a scrub and a bikini wax or a boyzilian. But what is really weird is that "ethnic cleansing" was a phrase created by the people reporting it and/or trying to stop it. Well, isn't that ass backwards? If you are the one committing the act, you most certainly aren't going to call it anything. You have no use for the words because you won't openly discuss it. So why are the people who find this behavior abhorrent making it sound nicer? So we don't bruise our ears on truth? Even in my own mind I can't help but think "ethnic cleansing" is bad, but it is a matter of a few degrees before we get to "genocide". So if we're not at genocide yet, we can afford to wait. That's a lie. It's a lie we live with every day. A lie.
It is one of many lies. Life is fast and complicated and we are disconnected. The machine has us living separate lives, communicating through inhuman devices that create an illusion of togetherness but only serve to alienate us. The more we splinter into little, insulated groups that think, speak and act the same, the less opportunity we have to be a community and share accurate information and experience. The easier it is to live with lies, because we are helpless. We see the mistakes, the arrogance of our last student uprisings and become cynical and alone. Nose to the grindstone, boys. There is no need of your opinion here. There is no room for your dissent, no room for your ambiguous positions, no room for your questions. Trust the machine. Eat your processed food. Invest in the machine and it will care for you. It will nurture you and your children.
Don't believe it. It's a lie.
whisper would it matter if the bullet went through my head?
If it was my blood spilling on the kitchen floor
If it was my blood, Mommy, would you care a little more?
Don't be surprised when they turn and start to cry
Tell your mommy and daddy
Scream it to your mommy and daddy
They're living their lie lie lie
It's all a lie
Lie lie lie
Okay, busted. I've been listening to the Monkees. Mostly I've been fixated on the song "Mommy and Daddy" because it touches a deep inner conflict of mine. Who knew, right?
On one hand, I love this song's youthful, righteous indignation. As a teenager I would have screamed this song at the top of my lungs, feeling that I had made a real and valid point. Part of me still feels that way. But on the other hand (you have different fingers), I feel sorry for the parents in this scenario. Not that their complacency is acceptable, but I understand how easy it is to get worn down and start accepting lies as an inevitable part of life.
Last night Tom and I were discussing the phrase "ethnic cleansing". What is curious about this phrase is that it seems to have been needlessly softened- to borrow George Carlin's rant. First off, let's not fuck around. It isn't "ethnic cleansing" it's GENOCIDE! Ethnic cleansing sounds like you're taking everyone to the spa for a scrub and a bikini wax or a boyzilian. But what is really weird is that "ethnic cleansing" was a phrase created by the people reporting it and/or trying to stop it. Well, isn't that ass backwards? If you are the one committing the act, you most certainly aren't going to call it anything. You have no use for the words because you won't openly discuss it. So why are the people who find this behavior abhorrent making it sound nicer? So we don't bruise our ears on truth? Even in my own mind I can't help but think "ethnic cleansing" is bad, but it is a matter of a few degrees before we get to "genocide". So if we're not at genocide yet, we can afford to wait. That's a lie. It's a lie we live with every day. A lie.
It is one of many lies. Life is fast and complicated and we are disconnected. The machine has us living separate lives, communicating through inhuman devices that create an illusion of togetherness but only serve to alienate us. The more we splinter into little, insulated groups that think, speak and act the same, the less opportunity we have to be a community and share accurate information and experience. The easier it is to live with lies, because we are helpless. We see the mistakes, the arrogance of our last student uprisings and become cynical and alone. Nose to the grindstone, boys. There is no need of your opinion here. There is no room for your dissent, no room for your ambiguous positions, no room for your questions. Trust the machine. Eat your processed food. Invest in the machine and it will care for you. It will nurture you and your children.
Don't believe it. It's a lie.
posted by Bree O'Connor at 2:04 PM
2 Comments:
I always thought genocide referred more to an open, brazen, government-sponsored thing while ethnic cleansing was more of a grassroots type of organization that, while may have government support under the table, is usually not explicitly supported by the government when talking to the international community. Those are the images conjured up in my mind anyway.
Do we really need to make the distinction when it is clear that SOMEONE is hosting the extermination? When has a government come to the fore to announce- "Oh, by the way, we're going to be exterminating 1/2 our population so if you hear any noises that's all it is. No need to come running..."
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