If Black Panther is the Target of a Mass Shooting in 'Merica...

Here’s a thought based on no specific knowledge or evidence. It is not a threat. It is a preemptive observation based on an established pattern of behavior.

There will probably be a mass shooting in a theater somewhere in America during the Black Panther opening weekend.

This thought might be depressing, but it will not be shocking in light of the political, social, and cultural environment we exist in. The ingredients are all present. The mood is ripe for a violent backlash in pop culture. It would be more surprising (but a huge relief) if the weekend passed without a racial attack at the movies.

If there is another episode of mass murder in ‘Merica, and I hope there isn’t, we know what the responses will be and how blame will be handed out. We will blame Marvel for making the movie. We will blame the theater for showing it. The people who went to see it will receive the most blame from the powers that be. How dare they create such a dangerous situation? We will pretend to be shocked. We will avoid the real discussion. The terrorists will be taken alive and characterized as disturbed loners or misunderstood men who had their whole lives ahead of them.

Debates will rage about the threat this type of film poses. Questions will be raised about whether or not it should have ever been made, or if the sequel should be canceled, or if anyone will go out to see it the following weekend.

Here is another thought based on nothing more than my own distorted view of reality. On the second weekend, more people will go to see it than the first. We will pretend to be shocked. It will be seen as a rejection of hate and a triumph for America. But that won’t be the real message. We will avoid the deeper discussion.

I’ve been wrong before. I hope I’m wrong now. If we are attacked again, I know what I will do. I’ll repost my advice for escaping a mass shooting, the same way I’ve done for most of the high profile terrorist attacks. (See What to Do When the Bullets Start Flying). I will tune out the false disbelief and misplaced blame. And then I’ll go and see the movie again and again, even if it’s horrible.

I hope you will too.

Have fun.

G   

2016 Is Our Year of Brutality

By Gamal Hennessy

There are only a few days left in the year, and for many of us the end can’t come soon enough. Members of my generation have seen our icons fall in film and music. The wider world is bracing for Brexit, the Trumpocalypse and ongoing bloodbaths in Syria, Yemen and South Sudan. The most sensational brutality of the year might be a recent phenomenon, but the cruelty that has faded from the headlines and mainstream consciousness is embedded in the fabric of ‘Merican culture.  Police brutality and violence against people of color had a prominent place in the public consciousness this year, but not much has changed on the ground.

From Anton Sterling to Jessica Williams to Philando Castile to Korryn Gaines to Tyre King to Terence Crutcher to Taiwon Boyd to Levonia Riggins to Keith Scott to Alfred Olango to Deborah Danner we find a pattern.  The gender, age, and geographic location might have been different for each victim, but the outcome was the same. Our police use our funding to murder us and face little or no consequences for their actions.

And all this occurred under the administration of an arguably progressive, feminist, black president. Do we have any reason to believe police brutality will decrease under Trumpzilla? Is there any chance the motivations of police will change? What is the likelihood that people will stop labelling us as criminal simply because of our race? Our society shares several characteristics with the slave ships of the Middle Passage. Those similarities are likely to deepen once we replace Obama with Trumpzilla.

None of us are fortune tellers. We don’t know what 2017 will bring, but it’s safe to say some of us won’t make it to see 2018. All we can really do is listen, learn, fight, work, create and love the people who are important to us.

Good luck to everyone who reads this. Remember the Moscow Rules.

Have fun.

Laws Don't Improve Society. We Do.

According to Foreign Policy Magazine, the rape culture of India isn't being reduced by public calls for castration, mob violence and harsher anti-rape laws. The problem might be getting worse. 

India Doesn't Understand It's Rape Problem

“The obsession with punishment “deflects attention from the accountability shared by the state” — its failure to address social norms that lead to sex crimes against women. These norms often emerge from legal and educational institutions that place little to no premium on gender equality. India’s preoccupation with capital punishment gives “individuals a way to distance themselves from potentially sexist beliefs they may themselves hold.”
”

— Kavita Krishnan, Secretary of the advocacy group All India Progressive Women’s Association

The problem isn't limited to India or our present issues with police brutality in America, pseudo religious extremism in Europe or mass murder in Nigeria. Governments can pass laws and crackdown on segments of the population, but our problems will continue until we change our individual perspectives and attitudes.

“The Holocaust was legal. Slavery was legal. Segregation was legal. If you use the state as a metric for ethics, you’ll end up disappointed.”

— Lex Loper

Consider the ongoing experience America is having with the LGBT community. Prior to the Stonewall Riots, homosexuality was a lifestyle shunned, attacked and rejected by mainstream society. They were blamed for HIV and accused of undermining the fabric of American society. In 2014, challenges still exist, but gay marriage is legal in a majority of states, same sex relationships in entertainment and advertising is on the rise and the mainstream has watered down gay culture in order to absorb it. 

This didn't happen because laws were changed to compel people to change their views. Views changed when anti-gay people understood some of their friends, family and colleagues were gay. Views changed when the two groups looked past the labels and started dealing with the people. Once the views were altered, the door to progress could open and then the laws changed. Of course, there are some people still fighting progress and other parts of the world are just as bad as they ever were. But change is happening among people first. Changing the law comes second.

If we want change, then we have to change. We can't just call for laws to be passed, demand people be fired, and wait for other people to change around us. Rape culture, racism and religious extremism are all macro level problems we can begin to reduce on an individual level. We won't be able to eradicate any of these problems, but changing individual attitudes can create a cultural shift and that kind of change can have more impact than passing a random law.

Have fun.

Gamal 

The Crossroads of Privilege

Each person in our society falls into multiple categories defined by class, race, ability, gender, orientation, education and others. As we move through different environments, our multiple forms of "membership" are perceived as positive or negative. This class gets attacked for X but has an easy time doing Y. This race is accepted here but not there. Navigating the different currents can be treacherous, especially when several factors come into play at once. 

A piece in the Huffington Post called Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person looks at the defensiveness certain people have when confronting the concept of white privilege. The author, who has the benefits of race but the challenges of gender and race, points out that white privilege (or male privilege or American privilege or cisgender privilege) isn't a magic wand anyone can use to erase all the other obstacles in their lives. It suggests most of us are dealing with a complex tapestry of issues which are only becoming more intricate as our subgroups grow.

““The concept of intersectionality recognizes that people can be privileged in some ways and definitely not privileged in others. There are many different types of privilege, not just skin-color privilege, that impact the way people can move through the world or are discriminated against. These are all things you are born into, not things you earned, that afford you opportunities that others may not have.””

— Gina Crosley-Corcoran: Author of the Feminist Breeder

I read the piece thinking about both my own complex relationship to the world around me as well as the multiple layers I want to build into my characters. I'm sharing it because if more of us saw each other beyond a singular two dimensional image we can turn our privilege into something positive.

Have fun.
G