Monday, June 4, 2018
Read " Life in the Iron Mills " by Rebecca Harding Davis ( first published 1861 )
I just heard on the local radio station that two prisoners at the Rhode Island ACI were found dead over the weekend - both apparent suicides. The " American Gulag " gives the American government no moral authority for moral crusades for TRUTH , JUSTICE , and the AMERICAN WAY in any troubled countries in the world.
The classic -often forgotten literature- that documents the horrors of working class oppression had been gathering dust for more than a century.
I recommend " Life in the Mills " by Rebecca Harding Davis ( with an interpreting essay by Tillie Olsen ) . The long short story first appeared in the April 1861 Atlantic Monthly. It begins :
" Is this the end ? O life, as futile, then , as frail !
What hope of answer of redress ? "
A young white working class male - with an unrecognized gift for sculpture- named Hugh Wolf , rather than rot there for life, commits suicide in prison. The iron mill worker was desperate for a ray of hope in life . He stole money from a " gentleman " type visiting the iron mill . He was sentenced to 19 years but back then a man of his class was not expected to reach age 40.
" Found him very low; bed all bloody "
In no way was this white working class ever a PRIVILEGED class in capitalist America. For them life during the Industrial Revolution was hardly less wretched than black slavery.
" Reparations "- for blacks and whites - can only come from a socialist revolution- long overdue .
The classic -often forgotten literature- that documents the horrors of working class oppression had been gathering dust for more than a century.
I recommend " Life in the Mills " by Rebecca Harding Davis ( with an interpreting essay by Tillie Olsen ) . The long short story first appeared in the April 1861 Atlantic Monthly. It begins :
" Is this the end ? O life, as futile, then , as frail !
What hope of answer of redress ? "
A young white working class male - with an unrecognized gift for sculpture- named Hugh Wolf , rather than rot there for life, commits suicide in prison. The iron mill worker was desperate for a ray of hope in life . He stole money from a " gentleman " type visiting the iron mill . He was sentenced to 19 years but back then a man of his class was not expected to reach age 40.
" Found him very low; bed all bloody "
In no way was this white working class ever a PRIVILEGED class in capitalist America. For them life during the Industrial Revolution was hardly less wretched than black slavery.
" Reparations "- for blacks and whites - can only come from a socialist revolution- long overdue .
I will light a church candle for my Randal Manor. " family ", Dorene, " Dottie ", and " Mindy " ( dear pets )
" Dottie " and " Mindy " in loving hands at Elbow St. Animal Shelter
Also, my best wishes for Dorene's lovely grand-daughters. My sister and I visited Dorene's grave site on Mother's Day. I recently checked on her cousin Helen. She is OK for 80+ but recently needed an eye operation.
I always think of my MISSING Randal Manor " family " - Dorene, Dottie and Mindy ( " The Monkey" ). I told a tearful Dorene that giving them up at the Elbow St. Animal Shelter was the " gift of life ",
At some future memorial mass I will light candles for ALL three of them. There must be a place in Heaven for guardian angel dogs- even ones that chew up not easily replaced false teeth.
Love to all, Ronnie Ruggieri
Also, my best wishes for Dorene's lovely grand-daughters. My sister and I visited Dorene's grave site on Mother's Day. I recently checked on her cousin Helen. She is OK for 80+ but recently needed an eye operation.
I always think of my MISSING Randal Manor " family " - Dorene, Dottie and Mindy ( " The Monkey" ). I told a tearful Dorene that giving them up at the Elbow St. Animal Shelter was the " gift of life ",
At some future memorial mass I will light candles for ALL three of them. There must be a place in Heaven for guardian angel dogs- even ones that chew up not easily replaced false teeth.
Love to all, Ronnie Ruggieri
Saturday, June 2, 2018
Corrupt American psychiatry useless to suicidal youths
[A study published in Clinical Psychological Science last year similarly concluded: “The increases in new media screen activities and the decreases in nonscreen activities may explain why depression and suicide increased among US adolescents since 2010.” ]
So many disturbed adolescents are not helped by a dysfunctional mental health system in the United States.
I was pleased to see a few books written by honest and competent psychiatrists on the corruption of American psychiatry . They write about the social crime of 50 years of " de-institutionalization ". About the assumption that DRUGS - with often hazardous side effects- can " control " the nation's mentally ill.
Even if some compassionate psychiatrists take an interest in some homeless or " lost souls " most of them operate within the framework of bourgeois ideology : no, there is nothing wrong with THE SYSTEM which destroys so many minds so early in life. Imagine SCIENCE incapable of questioning ANY assumption ?
A rare bird like psychiatrist Robert Lindner questioned the" 11th Commandment " of American society in the 1950s : in a book titled " Must You Conform " and in Lindner's study " Rebel without a Cause " - later made into the iconic James Dean movie.
How can the schools fight " bullying " when THAT is the very essence of the capitalist social order ?
I was reminded of this whenever I heard the Donald Trump of " The Apprentice " demolish a contestant : " You're fired ! "
Every two bit " boss " in the capitalist work place is a certified " bully ". Not THE BOSS -not THE JOB- is good for your mental and physical health.
[ “Donald Trump personifies a modern-day, extremely brash Jay Gatsby, clawing feverishly for that elusive ‘green light’ at the end of Daisy Buchanan’s beckoning dock. ] QUOTE
In a way the whole nation is experiencing-after years of Great Recession and the endless phony War on Terrorism- the emotional equivalent of F. Scott Fitzgerald's " Crackup ". How many readers know that this young author in the Roaring Twenties had SOCIALIST leanings ? After all, J. Gatsby was a fake and a fraud redeemed only by the " vision of Daisy ".
So many disturbed adolescents are not helped by a dysfunctional mental health system in the United States.
I was pleased to see a few books written by honest and competent psychiatrists on the corruption of American psychiatry . They write about the social crime of 50 years of " de-institutionalization ". About the assumption that DRUGS - with often hazardous side effects- can " control " the nation's mentally ill.
Even if some compassionate psychiatrists take an interest in some homeless or " lost souls " most of them operate within the framework of bourgeois ideology : no, there is nothing wrong with THE SYSTEM which destroys so many minds so early in life. Imagine SCIENCE incapable of questioning ANY assumption ?
A rare bird like psychiatrist Robert Lindner questioned the" 11th Commandment " of American society in the 1950s : in a book titled " Must You Conform " and in Lindner's study " Rebel without a Cause " - later made into the iconic James Dean movie.
How can the schools fight " bullying " when THAT is the very essence of the capitalist social order ?
I was reminded of this whenever I heard the Donald Trump of " The Apprentice " demolish a contestant : " You're fired ! "
Every two bit " boss " in the capitalist work place is a certified " bully ". Not THE BOSS -not THE JOB- is good for your mental and physical health.
[ “Donald Trump personifies a modern-day, extremely brash Jay Gatsby, clawing feverishly for that elusive ‘green light’ at the end of Daisy Buchanan’s beckoning dock. ] QUOTE
In a way the whole nation is experiencing-after years of Great Recession and the endless phony War on Terrorism- the emotional equivalent of F. Scott Fitzgerald's " Crackup ". How many readers know that this young author in the Roaring Twenties had SOCIALIST leanings ? After all, J. Gatsby was a fake and a fraud redeemed only by the " vision of Daisy ".
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