Is This A Dystopian Novel?

 

Is This A Dystopian Novel?

(Or Is It Reality?)

by C.A. Matthews

 

I’m writing this on the way home from an annual science fiction convention we’ve attended for many years. My husband and I primarily speak on writing craft and publishing topics, but sometimes we’re asked to be on panel discussions dealing with the intersection between fiction and reality. How does SF (speculative fiction) show us the current situation humanity finds itself in or even our possible future?

Wise words from a famous science fiction author

I happened to land on a panel called “The Handmaid’s Tale: Fear and Social Dystopia.” (Excellent topic idea!) We were to discuss how this best-selling novel by Margaret Atwood, and the more recent streaming television series based upon it, reflects the horror of discrimination American women currently face and how it could be a prediction of even scarier things to come.

Of course, since I was on the panel, the discussion soon wandered into what I see as the novel’s true premise. The story of the abused and enslaved handmaids isn’t a dystopian tale of the near-future or an alternate future but an accurate reflection of both our current and past American society. Atwood, as a Canadian, is in an excellent position to see us as a sympathetic outsider and point out painful things that Americans have blocked from our cultural memories. There is much for us to learn from her discerning eye.  

Is the USA in reality the mythical “Gilead”? Why do we not see the red-caped young women marching in lines and “the wall,” the place where dissidents and non-believers are hung for their crimes against the state and their bodies left hanging as a warning to others? My contention is that these two things do in fact exist, albeit in slightly different forms.

When the US imprisons whistleblowers and journalists (such as Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, and Julian Assange) because they revealed horrific torture operations done in our name by the US military, the CIA and others at the Abu Ghraib Prison and at our very own extrajudicial detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, are we not in reality hanging these brave souls from “the wall”? Are we not using their slow deaths in prison and exile to scare other potential whistleblowers not to do likewise? Isn’t dangling their reputations in front of the mainstream media (a.k.a. “the wall”) and making false charges against them a deterrent to others emboldened to expose the immorality and corruption of the US government?

When cops murder people of color in cold blood for minor traffic violations or for simply sleeping in their own beds, is this not a kind of state execution or “the wall” that tells others to stay quiet and obey their white masters and don’t fight for their rights? When the police use teargas and rubber bullets on protesters and striking workers, isn’t this putting them on “the wall” to kill their hopes and dreams for a better future for all?

The US now spends more money on militarizing our local police departments than most countries—including Russia—spend on their actual military. No other country has 800+ military bases scattered all over the globe. The closest is China with about eight bases. The US has the largest military budget in the world, one that is more than the other top ten nations combined, and yet it has no money available for health care, education, or housing for all its citizens.

Now, which country reminds you of the fascistic/militaristic realm of Gilead—the country who recently announced that poverty had been eradicated within their borders (China) or the one that has criminalized homelessness in many municipalities (USA)? “The wall” presents injustices along with rotting corpses of those the state doesn’t want.

What about the red capes and the rapes of the handmaids/ concubines? Atwood purposefully had her handmaids wrapped in “bloody cloths” or red capes, a symbol of birth and sacrifice. These young women are the heifers and hens forced to give birth like livestock in order to provide enough laborers to support the ruling classes. Gilead’s economic system relies on slavery—but it isn’t necessarily thought of as chattel slavery by its rulers. Wage slavery works just fine in present day America and our rulers (bosses) think nothing of it, either.

Which so-called “first world nation” has the highest maternal mortality rate? You know it—it’s the USA. The maternal mortality rate for mothers of color is even higher than it is for whites, but it’s also high for poor whites with no access to private health insurance. What other society tells its women of child bearing years that their health and safety during child birth isn’t all that important? Could it be the only so-called first world nation that doesn’t provide universal health care for its people?

And then there’s the overturn of the Roe V. Wade ruling. (Read my take on how abortion rights are used against women in A Matter of Control.) What other country allows basic human rights, such as the right to bodily autonomy, to be stolen away from its citizens at the whim of conservative judges? Yes, Trump did appoint conservative federal judges, but he didn’t appoint all of them or even the majority of them. Most federal judges currently serving have been serving for more than ten years. Arch-conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was appointed during the Clinton Administration. Who was the senator that made sure Clarence Thomas was appointed to the Supreme Court by discrediting Anita Hill’s testimony and raking her over the coals? Senator Joseph R. Biden of Delaware is the man who made sexist, disparaging remarks to Professor Hill. You may have heard of him.

Atwood’s Gilead has one advantage the US doesn’t. It doesn’t waste time playing the silly game of what “color” or establishment political party is currently in the majority. True rulers always will get what they want at the expense of the ordinary working people’s lives. The establishment parties are mere distractions, foils as it were, and will always do as they’re told. Therefore, all third parties or alternative viewpoints must be crushed at whatever cost. The upper-classes can’t have the ordinary people thinking for themselves, can they? 

I posit that Americans have been living in Gilead since 1776. The corrupt economic system established by our “Founding Fathers” will always favor wealthy, white, land-owning (and slave owning) males. Women will always be controlled by the state through their wombs or reproductive capacity. Activists who speak up against injustices and attempt to organize the poor and working classes will always be labelled as agitators, communists, or enemies of the state. 

Los Angeles has criminalized the homeless.

Isn’t this the society Atwood envisioned in The Handmaid’s Tale? There’s no reason for Americans to lie to themselves any longer. The US is a dystopian novel. 

What can we do about it? Audience members asked the panelists if there was a way to overcome the Gilead characteristics baked into the DNA of the USA. I’m optimistic there is something we can do because folks did ask that question and assumed that they are capable of enacting changes for the better.

I think our best shot is to create genuine community and practice systems of mutual aid, such as the ones I described in my novel Where The Bodies Lie. We can grow our own food and share it with neighbors. We can create worker co-ops and organize worker-run unions to take on exploitative employers. We can work around the discriminatory distribution systems for food, health care, and shelter by fulfilling needs directly without including the predatory middle-man that capitalism seems to think is necessary for life (and that we all know isn’t).

There are many positive things we can and already do to dispel the gloom of dystopia, but we must do them together. No more of this “rugged individualism” that keeps us struggling and infighting amongst our fellow workers while the rich receive tax breaks and government subsidies for failing businesses. We need to build compassionate communities capable of feeding and taking care of each other, such as those described in the New Testament in the book of Acts. No more leaving anyone behind!

Until all women are free, all people of color are free, the homeless and the migrant and the hungry are all free, none of us will ever be free. None of us will escape Gilead. It’s an all or nothing proposition. But do we have the will to turn The Handmaid’s Tale dystopia into a Star Trek utopia? If any group can make the world into a better place, I believe it's sci-fi fans.

Let’s boldly go into that future.

Another great quote from Kurt Vonnegut.

Related Links:

Free Stores Offer an Alternative to the Exploitative Capitalist Economy https://truthout.org/articles/free-stores-offer-an-alternative-to-the-exploitative-capitalist-economy/

Catalyzing Worker Co-ops and the Solidarity Economy https://popularresistance.org/catalyzing-worker-co-ops-the-solidarity-economy/

US Quality of Life Now Ranks Down with Bulgaria (video) https://rumble.com/v1lor6v-us-now-ranks-with-bulgaria-as-developing-country.html

90% of the World Doesn't Back the US Now (video)  https://youtu.be/jsrOfEVcbzA

Is 2020 a Rerun of 1939 or Something Much Darker?

 

Is 2020 a Rerun of 1939 or Something Much Darker?

By Vegematic Deluxe

 Sitting here in the relative peace and safety of my Canadian home, I feel a profound sense of unease and dread. It's not just the pandemic or the increasing environmental catastrophes. It's not only the corporate takeover of all public institutions or the obscene inequality of wealth. It's not just the fact that a fascist government controls the most powerful weapons of war ever devised.

Each of these would be more than enough individually to contribute to many sleepless nights, but it's the convergence that makes all of these crises feel unbearable. As we tenuously cling to some sort of normalcy, I believe that if we are to be honest with ourselves, we must admit that normalcy as we have known it will probably never return.

 In 1939, my 15 year old father was living the normal life of a farm boy in Poland. He was a good student and had dreams of becoming a veterinarian. The harvest that summer had been bountiful and the family was assured of enough to get them through the coming winter. The school year was about to begin and my father was eager to return to his studies.

 Working to bring in the harvest in the warm September sun along with his father, they heard a horrendous cacophony as the skies above their little farm darkened with Nazi Stukas. In that one moment, my father's life was forever changed. In an instant, he became a homeless refugee on the run from Nazi storm troopers. Captured and placed in a concentration camp, that 15 year old boy witnessed atrocities that no human should ever be exposed to. Due to his bravery and ingenuity, he managed to escape the camp and eventually joined the British forces. His regiment was comprised of Polish refugees who were the first Allied forces to take the Nazi stronghold of Monte Cassino in Italy.

By McConville (Sgt), No 2 Army Film; Photographic Unit

My father never discussed his wartime experiences with me until shortly before his death. It was just too painful for him. However, his life serves as a constant reminder to me of just how quickly everything you hold dear can be snatched away.

 The despair that I'm feeling watching the rise of fascism around the world is deeply personal to me. To witness America falling into a fascist dictatorship is the stuff of nightmares. Yet here we are, watching history repeat itself complete with the accompanying denial by the average citizen. Seeing the impotence of the octogenarian opposition while government institutions have been methodically dismantled and replaced by Trump sycophants is more than a little disheartening. Insane conspiracy theories like Q proliferate across the internet while actual crimes against democracy are not only tolerated, but encouraged.

The chaos is deliberate. There is credible evidence that much of the arson and looting at BLM protests was instigated by right wing agitators. This plays right into the hands of a fascist dictator posing as a "law and order" savior. Are we as a planet about to descend into a dark age that dwarfs the horrors of the Second World War? All of the indicators point to yes.

 I have been labeled an alarmist since I first saw a Trump rally in 2015. What has occurred in the ensuing years has done nothing to dispel my fear. It has only served to confirm them. I desperately want to be proven wrong. Without massive societal changes, we will never return to "normal" again. The best way that I can honor my father's memory is to fight fascism with every fiber of my being and to encourage others to take up the struggle. The future of humanity may well depend on it.

BIO: Vegematic is a YouTuber with an eclectic following of  broad-minded people who enjoy hearing  commentary on life in this century from a Canadian perspective. He's also an excellent artist. Check out his videos on his channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2vzbyWki1kWC6SAzeqw_Iw.

 

 Related Article:

Why are the Democrats praying for the speedy recovery of a fascist dictator? https://theintercept.com/2020/10/04/why-are-democrats-praying-for-the-speedy-recover-of-a-fascist-dictator/

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Moral Monday Car Caravan Protest 

with the Poor People's Campaign

The Poor People's Campaign took it to the streets this week to protest Sen. Mitch McConnell's "Misery, Meaness and Mayhem" in Washington with his dismal performance as leader of the Senate. Protesters in Toledo, Ohio, targeted the offices of Sen. Rob Portman (R) by circling the block repeatedly with signs on their vehicles and shouting through a portable P.A. horn chants such as "Health care not wealth care (warfare)!"  Will Senator Portman listen to the people? Let's watch and see. More Moral Monday protests are planned.

 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Tish O’Dell

Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund

Ohio Community Organizer

CELDF.org

tish@celdf.org

BREAKING: Court Breathes New Life into Lake Erie Bill of Rights Legal Fight

Imperiled Lake Erie must be protected. Lake Erie Bill of Rights lives to fight another day, but still faces obstacles.

TOLEDO, OH: Yesterday, an Ohio court of appeals reversed a previous trial court order, ruling residents suing to enforce the Lake Erie Bill of Rights (LEBOR) and hold the State of Ohio accountable for its failure to protect Lake Erie have stated a legitimate claim. The court also suggested the State of Ohio has been hypocritical and may not be fulfilling its obligations toward Lake Erie and her people. The state argues it is protecting Lake Erie—which is the people of Toledo’s drinking water supply—but instead is busy trying to slow down the people of Toledo from advancing historic Rights of Nature protections for the imperiled lake.

“The state keeps claiming it has the sole power to protect Lake Erie, then why don’t they protect it already? The people have no illusions that the courts or this ruling will save them or the lake. Lake Erie turns green and poisonous with toxic algae year after year and the state not only does nothing, it protects the polluters and fights the people who are attempting to protect the lake,” says CELDF Ohio Organizer Tish O’Dell. “This ruling at least validates the people’s instinct to keep fighting for the lake and their community any way they can. We will fight however we can, wherever we can.”

Yesterday’s ruling is “vindication of what we have been saying, and what has been obvious to anyone who lives near the lake: The state has abandoned its duty to defend the public good in favor of selling out to agricultural lobbyists and factory farms, with predictably disastrous results,” says Bryan Twitchell, one of the lawsuit’s plaintiffs.

LEBOR joins other local Rights of Nature laws in the United States, including in Grant Township, Pennsylvania and Lincoln County, Oregon that have made inroads into the legal system. The court said yesterday that the state’s argument “appears opposite” to one it argued in a federal case against LEBOR.

"While it helps to claim a victory in court, that is not the only way we build a movement,” says Markie Miller, a petitioner for LEBOR and organizer with Toledoans for Safe Water. “Laws should reflect our ethics, not guide them. We can't throw these debates to the courts.”

The ruling follows August oral arguments about the Rights of Nature lawsuit. “A century from now, if our species survives, people will undoubtedly wonder how we could possibly have defined Lake Erie, a necessity for survival, as mere property to be exploited instead of a living and life-giving body with an inherent right to be healthy,” said plaintiff Mike Ferner at that hearing.

CELDF celebrates the people of Toledo. Their fight to protect Lake Erie, their lifeblood, has been an uphill battle from the start. They were the underdogs to get on the ballot, during the campaign to pass the law, and now in the courts. They keep showing others what it takes to protect what you love.

About CELDF — Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund

The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) is building a movement for Community Rights and the Rights of Nature to advance democratic, economic, social, and environmental rights – building upward from the grassroots to the state, federal, and international level.

 

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From Green Peace:

The Wet’suwet’en First Nation hereditary chiefs are urgently calling for support to stop the Coastal GasLink pipeline!

Tell KKR & Co: Divest from the Coastal GasLink pipeline!

MESSAGE KKR & CO.

Earlier in the month, I woke up to my Facebook account blocked. I couldn’t access anything and, as a result, I couldn’t do my job to amplify your important calls for a more just and green world! In fact, all of Greenpeace USA’s online staff couldn’t access their Facebook accounts, along with frontline Wet’suwet’en Indigenous leaders, grassroots land defenders, and hundreds more climate activists organizing against the Coastal GasLink pipeline.

Facebook claimed that a #ShutDownKKR online day of action we co-hosted back in May — targeting KKR & Co., a major funder of the Coastal GasLink pipeline — violated their terms of service. The accounts have been unblocked and the social media giant apologized, but they still haven’t sent the specific details about what happened.

Wet’suwet’en leaders who oppose the pipeline continually face repressive tactics from multi-national bullies like Facebook. With construction looming, we need to be as loud as ever to make sure the Coastal GasLink pipeline never gets built by pushing its biggest investor — KKR & Co. — to pull out of their agreement.

Tell KKR & Co. to divest from the Coastal GasLink pipeline slated to cut through Wet’suwet’en land without consent from Indigenous leaders.

The Coastal GasLink pipeline is TC Energy's latest pipeline project. It would pump fracked gas over 420 miles from northern Canada to the west coast of Canada where it would cross Wet’suwet’en territory without consent from the hereditary chiefs, before being exported to Asia.

Now is not the time to slow down — we need to ramp up.

Pipeline workers and militarized police officers are flooding into Wet’suwet’en territories, putting communities at even more risk for COVID-19. These “man camps” house hundreds of workers in tight quarters, and many members of the community are terrified that they will become breeding grounds for violence against Indigenous women and two-spirit people.

The Coastal GasLink pipeline is putting Indigenous communities at severe risk, and KKR & Co. is set to make a lot of money.

KKR & Co. must be held accountable for ignoring the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs demands to stop construction, putting the Wet’suwet’en land and water at risk, endangering Indigenous women and two spirit people by building man camps along the route, and fueling the climate crisis.

Not only are we taking our action online all week, grassroots activists from the Wet’suwet’en Solidarity Team, Seeding Sovereignty, and Rising Tide North America projected images onto the KKR building in NYC and sent a plane over the whole city with this message — Defund Coastal GasLink #ShutDownKKR!

Will you join the #ShutDownKKR online week of action right now?

Tell KKR & Co. to respect the rights of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs and stop funding the risky Coastal GasLink pipeline immediately.

Facebook’s banning of the Wet’suwet’en solidarity movement was absurd, and they’ve been largely unaccountable when it comes to telling us why it happened. The tech giant already has a massive disinformation crisis where climate deniers run rampant. It really begs the question of what’s next.

We need to flex our power and stop billionaire oil CEOs, industry lobbyists, tech giants, and private equity firms who want to push through projects and platforms that deeply affect real people no matter the cost.

There is no climate justice without Indigenous sovereignty,

Vanessa Butterworth, Greenpeace USA
A settler originally from Mississauga of the New Credit First Nation territory in Canada¹

PS: Want to directly support the Wet’suwet’en? Here’s the #WetsuwetenStrong 2020 supporter toolkit straight from the hereditary chiefs.

[1] Read about the importance of using land acknowledgements here: https://native-land.ca