NOTES FROM AN OCCUPATION

Monday, April 14, 2025

I got a ticket the other morning, one of those completely fraudulent 'opposite side of the street' parking scams where a sweeper comes by twice a month purportedly to clean the gutters and just blows all the leaves into the middle of the road.

Since there were no available spots within three blocks the night before, I had crossed my fingers and hoped to find a place in the morning but ended up falling back asleep with Bennett and missing the 8AM deadline.

The sense of barely contained rage and injustice that swamped me as I approached my car and saw the ticket crammed under my windshield wiper reminded me of something that took me a moment to define.

But then the lightbulb went on: this is how I feel every day living in this country ever since the occupation started. Outrage and helplessness. Sure, I can tear up the ticket. I can flip off the city and refuse to pay. But that will only cost me more in the long run.

Because, to quote Stew (of the band TNP) from his excellent song, The Great Leap Forward:

"No, you can't fight city hall. Except with a bomb. You can't bite the hand that bleeds you"

What is the balance between hyper-vigilance and willful ignorance? I seem to bounce back and forth between these magnetic poles on a daily basis.

If I pay too much attention my guts start to burn and I can almost feel a dark blistering knot of cancer taking root in my DNA. But If I close my eyes and try to pretend I'm okay, I start to feel complicit.

Perhaps we're all trying to navigate this grim path of "how to be" in the current moment; to stay sane in the middle of a lunatic asylum with no doctors or guards, only overworked nurses on the verge of mutiny.

And it's easy to say "take whatever small pleasure you can find and hold it to your heart." But there is real misery being propagated within arm's reach. And there is not much that can be done other than to contact representatives, protest, stay in touch with each other.

And wait for the call to action.

On the one hand, I want to appear as unfazed as possible: I don't want the overlords to know they've crushed my dreams.

But I also I don't want my compatriots to think I'm being blasé.

So, for the record, I know how real this all is. And, also for the record: there is no limit to how far I am willing to go in order to save this country from the looming cloud of fascism that is moving closer every day.

For the moment, that just means staying in touch with those of you who are as scared/determined as me; to remind all of us that there is a solution to this nightmare. Not sure what it is yet. But if we prepare and are ready to take action, one will certainly reveal itself.

In the meantime, for God's sake live your life as fully as you can. Surround yourself with love and meaning. Never forget what it is we're fighting for.