SPECIAL NOTE: THIS PARTICULAR ARTICLE SHOULD NOT BE THE FIRST ONE OF MINE THAT SOMEONE READS; http://oxtogrind.org/archive/364 would be a good start. ALSO, AGAIN, THE SITE IS ARCHIVED. NOTHING IS FUNCTIONAL or up-to-date except the recent articles… and each piece was written primarily for a specific audience; contexts available upon request.

No Excuses: In Every Appearance, Every Article, Everywhere….
by Ricardo x (Richard Martin Oxman)

“Documentation and individual activism should go on, but not in lieu of moving in solidarity on a scale large enough to move mountains overnight.” — Roman Catholic priest and missionary Ronald William Hennessey (just prior to his death, ten years ago).

“Richard’s still only asking for ten minutes worth of someone’s time total over the entire next year from concerned citizens.” — UAW worker to a colleague (spot-on).

“You can hold onto the delusion that investing hope or energy in either or the two major parties or in any of the permanently marginalized parties is worthwhile as long as you cast a vote for TOSCA’s gubernatorial candidate in California or tell others to do so.” — The author speaking to members of the Green Party, Peace and Freedom Party, Socialist Party and Democratic Party.

Every person with a progressive or radical bone in their body has enough interests in common to support* TOSCA’s working figurehead candidate for Governor of California (as per http://oxtogrind.org/archive/364) whether or not they reside in the Golden State… whether or not they’re “TOO BUSY”** to be involved in “another project.”

*Support can mean something as simple as offering one’s individual imprimatur (as a citizen, if not as a rep of a given NGO whose non-profit status prevents endorsements for reasons that serve the powers that be.) Or perhaps… recommending someone to be part of our coalition… or providing a lead in or outside California. Ideally, I’d like to see everyone everywhere taking every op to plug TOSCA.

**I’m going to choke on the absurd number of responses from leftists who claim they have no heartbeats to spare. Forgive my language, but they are bullshitting themselves if they understand what we’re shooting for, how we intend to go about accomplishing our goals, and WHY we’re asking for their solidarity. Our invitations to come on board are always on a basis that will suit their purposes, by the way.

Hey, use your imagination. That’s why it’s there. [It'll get us all from here to there.]

Specifically, imagine — This is in no special order! — Mike Davis, Angela Davis, Henry Giroux, Noam Chomsky, Ann Wright, Howard Zinn, Elaine Brown, Derrick Jensen, Mickey Z, John Trumpbour, Simon Sedillo, Jennifer Loewenstein, Michael Albert, Ward Churchill, Lydia Sargent, Devinder Sharma, John Ross, YOU (?), Marie Trigona, Medea Benjamin (who has recently served as an apologist of sorts for the U.S. military), Alexander Cockburn, Jeffrey St. Clair, Joshua Frank, Madeline Janis or any of the members of LAANE, Barbara Ehrenreich, Cynthia McKinney, a handful of workers from South End Press and/or AK Press, Ralph Nader (whose latest work suggests we need money to change things!), Justin Akers Chacon, Peter McLaren, Hugo Chavez, Glen Ford, Fidel Castro, Michael Parenti, Norman Solomon (still playing middle-of-the-road after all these years), Danny Schechter (who seems to think that pointing out that the U.S. is somewhat responsible for South Africa’s financial ills is worth the heartbeats!), Dahr Jamail, Mumia Abu Jamal, some radical sports figures AND Dave Zirin, Amy Goodman and her colleague Juan (without endangering their fund raising?), Jeremy Scahill, Leonard Peltier, the whole staff at Dissident Voice, Christian Parenti, Tariq Ali, Nane and colleagues of Santa Cruz’s Barrios Unidos and so on, and so on… ALL (ASAP) encouraging EVERYONE to get behind TOSCA’s attempt to push for institutional change ASAP. On book tours. In personal public appearances. In person… with friends, family and acquaintances. With total strangers. With vigor, creatively, repeatedly. NOT exclusively, not neglecting what they’re doing at present. But as an additional burden, if you will. [Pause.] Or… making use of TOSCA as an extra arrow (with poisoned tip!) in their collective back, bow and hip quivers.

The above list does not even approximate 1% (ONE PERCENT!) of the number of people, with high and low profile, how I have attempted contact with. Does not even represent 1% of the number of people I’ve made some contact with. DOES NOT REPRESENT 1% OF THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO I’VE HAD EXTENSIVE CONTACT WITH RESPECTING TOSCA. Does not come close to equaling 1% of the number of people who have chosen not to respond at all to repeated missives of mine.

C’mon, use your imagination. For that’s what it’s for.

Imagine the above suggestion being carried out. Imagine it being implemented at conferences too. In all left-oriented seminars. IMAGINE some bands beginning to write and perform their very own TOSCA songs. With Oaxacan activist Son Jarocho-like lyrics. Imagine making inroads without violence. Imagine getting somewhere without getting incarcerated or beat up. Imagine the unimaginable. Imagine what makes sense.

Why are people anal-retentive regarding REVOLUTION? Why do they have to know this and that ahead of time? Parecon/Paresoc has enough worked out, if you’re so inclined, obsessed so. But Arundhati Roy says “Go for it!” whether or not you have everything worked out. She’s spot-on attitudinally, of course. And yet… many activists who otherwise agree with her on issues demand A GRAND PLAN replete with website delineating every philosophical nook and cranny. [Pause.] Isn’t the (overly obvious) ongoing horror in place enough to make you scream WHATEVER you replace the powers that be with will be an improvement? The most illiterate group of people I might find on the street at random (if they had some left-oriented expert opinion to draw upon 24×8) could do an infinitely better job for Californians in the Sacred Seat of Sacramento than any previous governor who’s been at the helm. [Again, we intend to have twelve unaffiliated, non-politician citizens making decisions together on an equal basis in lieu of having a single self-serving careerist, beginning in 2011.] One has to be totally devoid of ___________ and totally out of touch with ___________________ to not see that whoever either of the two major parties shoves into office and down our throats next gubernatorial go-round will be our death knell. [I can't get myself to fill in the blanks here.] Or… is the reader really not aware of our MOMENTUM, our collective crazy-making, ecocidal/suicidal, increasingly racist SYNDROME?

Things only seem to be okay enough for about 20% of the (arrogant) U.S. population.

Imagine it’s getting late. [Pause.] For it is.

Imagine that in recruiting for TOSCA, we’re not going to go about it following any paradigm that’s been used in the past. Imagine that the whole point is not even the gubernatorial prize. That TOSCA is actually more about calling a spade a spade from a new angle. And, in the process, planting radical seeds. Planting seeds in solidarity. Planting seeds whilst — TOGETHER — working on a single goal. That is, to TAKE OVER THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. Which would have immediate worldwide repercussions (http://oxtogrind.org/archive/311). [Pause.] Or… to do something else together eventually.

Devinder Sharma of India recently recommended that I not use the expression take over. Too off-putting, he thought. [Pause.] But I’m not caught up with the usual concerns of people playing the electoral game. I don’t want or need people on board — WE DON’T — who get frightened off so easily. Who still buy into the need to be tactful about these matters. Who aren’t ready to create hope by rejecting the “hope” held out by the powers that be. Like Obama. Like your local rep. Like your Senator Feinstein of Boxer… or whoever is firmly ensconced in an inaccessible seat. No, Devinder (Bless you for your work!), we don’t need to concern ourselves with those matters which old paradigms for change are locked into, enveloped by, making all efforts at lasting, sufficiently meaningful change woefully inadequate.

Barbara Ehrenreich underscores what “learned helplessness” is in her (new) Bright-Sided: How The Relentless Promotion Of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America. It has to do with masses of people succumbing to the resignation and cynicism which puts them out of the loop. Which makes it impossible for them to contribute to meaningful change in society. A society which is no longer democratic in any satisfying sense.

We don’t just have to overcome the powers that be. We have to overcome that. That atomization which convinces people that there’s no future in moving in solidarity because: a) there’s too much to overcome, b) the powerful, motivated, well-organized Black Panthers and other radical groups were eliminated in short order (and the powers of the powers that be today are even greater), c) and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on.

Excuses.

Look, those people listed above — with all of their historic, expansive experience — have never moved in solidarity focused on anything remotely like what TOSCA is asking people to focus on. Ditto for the other 99% too.

I ask you to do so. Join hands. Don’t worry about what anyone else might or might not do.

For if you don’t all is lost. ALL.

It is not enough to merely do this or that. Whatever it is that you’re doing. You pass legislation? Good. But it gets reversed… too soon. Or loopholes are created unnoticed. You feed the homeless? Most excellent. But you must not allow our MOMENTUM to put two starving children on your line for every one you help. Or permit your line to be moved or removed. You save potable water? Great. But how great is it if what’s shared is slated to be hoarded or made toxic? You ended the war? Right. [But let's make believe you did.] You ended one of our many wars? Do you know [believe?] our history? How ’bout our intentions? How ’bout the way in which our economy is linked to the Pentagon? C’mon, please, use your imagination! [Pause.] We can change that, but not if we remain in our little corners, not if we insist upon holding onto our individual focus exclusively. If I had a $100 for every leftist author (planting seeds, educating others on a book tour) who’s promised to follow-through on my proposal, my communIcations (who has NOT)… I’d be a rich man. [Pause.] Simply put, people are capable of more than merely their next pontification, their next stint in the soup kitchen.

[Long pause.]

In response to my ranting and raving about my frustration in trying to get “leftists” out of their little corners – to move in solidarity on some single basis whilst they continue with their necessary, good other work — an activist friend said the following:

“It’s almost as if people understand the depth of the problem and realize how drastic our response should be and thus, choose to stay so focused on their single issue as to shut out the coming crash.”

That’s spot-on, I believe. Perhaps we only need to underscore that we all – collectively — have a few deadlines that will absolutely not be met unless we unify in some new way in immediate action.

Ideally, I think we should use a great number of our heartbeats on behalf of TOSCA’s agenda. But if the reader decides not to use a single heartbeat on behalf of TOSCA’s agenda… I would greatly appreciate knowing how that is justified. People like me — and there are not nearly enough — should be nurtured by those who fancy that they are pushing for progressive or radical change.

So I can better use every single heartbeat. [Pause.] So I can have… no excuses.

Ricardo x (Richard Martin Oxman) can be reached at tosca.2010[at]yahoo.com.
http://oxtogrind.org/archive/378 has some of his background.