& I knew for a
very long time that Victor Borge's piece would be about the militaristic
state of America and the danger of corruption within the police force.
I've been writing about injustices for so long now it's numbing to see
no changes whatsoever in this racist country, filled with lies and
hypocrisy. After the death of George Floyd, like so many others, I was
filled with rage. I re-entered this poem to vent some of my anger. I
had been knocking around "u n i form uniform" in my head for years
before this moment, but it became clear the movement of this moment in
time had to be here.
&I'm
sure some people will be shocked by this poem because of the leaps it
makes, but people need to make great leaps and strides if we are to
change the fate of this country. People wonder how on Earth the
Holocaust could have happened, but it wasn't as sudden as most people
believe. The police brutality that has become a part of American life
is because of the segregated system that has created this militia and
its incarceration prisons of death. A fascist government needs fear to
grow, but it also needs to suppress education and control the
information that is fed to its citizens.
&We're
living with a president who is not only building the wall of the
souther border, but he (and all of the current administration) are
building up all the walls people I know fought to tear down in the 60s.
Seems no one ever seen Pink Floyd's The Wall. The police tactics
are working, because I have hit a wall here. This poem is wall of text,
and its words are begging for no more, for things to stop, à la Gilda
Radner's muppoem in Volume 3: Red Fire. I am aware of the Empire that I
live in, but it's difficult to accept it. People lie because the truth
is not easy, but I know we are all strong enough to handle it. Who will
be the one in a position of power to finally start speaking it though?
We are living amongst Neo-Nazis, and the police force that is suppose
to protect us, is killing us, the US. The countless deaths of black
people by the state clearly demonstrates the systemic racism it is a
part of. There are plenty of books warning the U.S. about its danger
towards becoming the exact thing it claims it is not. I am a poet, not a
lecturer. Justice is the priority right now. Next is education.
&Here is an effective msn article
on the issue... I need to step off my soap box before I have an ulcer. I
must return to my Muses who give me hope. If you aren't with me yet on
what this rainbow-connection collection is all about, get in line, but
to those that still believe in my work, here are a few notes:
&The
opening number to this episode is of The Village People's "Macho Men."
It's one of the gay anthems, and this performance cleverly blends its
flamboyancy with satire on these testosterone-injected narcissists who
have no clue how to listen. Link Hogthrob is the star, which is perfect,
and he calls to mind the recurring sketch "Bear on Patrol." No
coincidence, Fozzie does come onto the scene of the crime in uniform.
&As Naomi Wolf writes in her Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot: "the
violence of orchestrated gangs, just like their sophistication, tends
to escalate over time as well. In Germany, after World War I, political
parties allied themselves with armed, uniformed paramilitary groups.
Their task was to march, harass members opposing groups, and beat them—
sometimes to kill them."
&The
city backdrop to this number made me remember the Muppet, Floyd Pepper
(named after Pink Floyd) and his poignant rendition of "While My Guitar
Gently Weeps," performed in another episode with the same set. This
then made me think of his other performance of "Blackbird" off the same
White Album. I adore Jerry Nelson, and I know those two performance came
straight from his heart. It is with that same heart that I make the
reference, but Floyd is the only word to be capitalized throughout to be
clear the context of the poem references George Floyd, and the family's
need and right for justice.
&The
second set of italics within this piece is something a friend shared
with me before passing on from this world. He's been on my mind so much
lately, and I used it because I found it was the only way I could pull
together my poem's rant. This episode features Bobby Benson's Baby
Band. They have always cracked me up into hysterics, but that's the joy
of cartoons and puppetry... you can get away with a lot more. In
reality, just like Marvin Suggs, it's not okay what Bobby does to his
babies. Can babies be born bad? People are victims of circumstance,
and I think some are more susceptible to be trained to be monsters. Yes,
please, DEFUND THE POLICE. This militaristic training needs to end,
and all money and energy must be put towards education.
&The
final number has Borge performing Tchaikovsky's "Piano Concerto No. 1,"
interspersed with a few standards. The one I didn't pick up on was of
the "Colonel Bogey March." This song was used during WWII to mock the
Nazis. Victor Borge, the Great Dane, was well known to make fun of
Hitler. He was a Holocaust survivor.
&Now,
nothing can compare to the horror of the Holocaust, yet also, nothing
can compare to this country's crimes against humanity with the Native
American genocide and Atlantic slave trade. Many people believe that the
criminal acts of the Nazis was not due to racism because Jews are not a
race, and that the Anti-Semitism prejudice comes from religion. I
learned in school that this is not technically true because race is a
political category. It is a belief system that led to all the atrocities
that happened. From the National Socialists (Nazis) to the American Neo
Nazis, a person is a Jew because of his/her race. Is it the same as
what Blacks are dealing with now? No. But you can draw parallels that
deserve conversation. Hitler believed all the human race could be
divided by race, and they viewed Jews as one which was weak and
inferior. If Neo Nazis who support Trump, the commander of armed forces,
then this country is certainly in serious danger, and until the armed
forces stop receiving amnesty and are persecuted and punished for their
crimes, then this country will not make it. There needs to be someone in
power who addresses the racist crimes of the U.S., and then help
dismantle the system in order to reassemble it to match the country's
ideals.
&You
will notice in the final number that Borge's grand piano is a
Bösendorfer. In my poem, I reference Steinway & Sons. That is the
brand of grand piano that rests in the White House. I truly cannot
imagine anyone using it. There is no music coming from the White House
right now. Why has music, art, and poetry been stripped
away from American eyes in exchange for nullifying mind-controlling
media? Human rights will not be sacrificed for the 'safety' of a
militant state, because all that offers is danger and death. I think Americans are the most fearful and unhappy that they have ever been before. In this episode, Miss Piggy references The Sound of Music,
and in that film, the von Trapps sing "Eldelweiss" as a sign of
patriotism and loyalty to their country, despite the fact that they
disagree with Nazism. I guess, in the movie in my head, I sing "Rainbow
Connection" to show my devotion to America, despite being so vehemently
against its war on human rights, and I intend to keep singing it until
freedom of speech is taken away from us, though I honestly don't know
how much longer I can live here.
