1/5 - Iskra - The First of 2025

1/5 Iskra - The First of 2025

Feels during this time before inauguration: It’s 2000hrs on a Thursday night. I sip tea. I read articles. I meditate. I write. I realize that this is the month. The month Trump and his douche canoes take office. I make light of it because sometimes things are so bad you have to simply laugh to keep from breaking down. This is one of those. It’s quite tragic. A true oligarchy is forming before our eyes, and is taking hold of our government. We tread towards the path of fascism. And this is the month it solidifies even more. I’d like to go ahead and give a shout out to ‘ol Jimmy Carter for kickin the bucket within a timeframe that flags will be half staff for Trump's swearing in. It’s funny too. Jimmy Carter was a capitalist, an American imperialist, so he wasn’t my favorite president, but neither was he my most hated. Carter embraced conventional, right-wing “free market” economics, including the deregulation of key sections of the economy, beginning with the airlines, the trucking industry, the railroads and natural gas production and distribution. He was still a part of this corporate two party system that is run by capitalist oligarchs that have put us where we are today. But still he died at the perfect time. It seems the seriousness of January feelings coming into inauguration month give a need for comic relief. Laugh to keep from crying is this month’s theme. 

There are some things that not even comedy can help though. There have been domestic terrorist attacks that were committed by Army veterans over this week. One man killed fourteen humans and injured many others. Why? What drives a human to want to kill other humans that have done no harm to them? Do they see them as the reason for their suffering? A psychological projection of some type? Untreated psychological disorders? Our broken military is one reason. Our broken healthcare system - especially mental healthcare is another reason. This man holds all the blame, but we must also ask how we prevent these attacks from occurring? How do we heal these veterans? These poor working class comrades who get talked into joining the military with the hope of financial stability, community, and fighting for something beyond themselves. Then they’re broken. Their minds. Their bodies. Their existence is altered for the rest of their lives with no guidance on how to heal. Broken veterans are yet another victim of capitalism. There’s no light to make in this circumstance. There is no laughing to be had. There is no comic relief. Only sadness and grief. Only hurt broken human beings hurting and breaking other human beings. 

Another tragedy occurred this week more locally. The Knoxville Police Department killed a black 18 year old high school senior in his grandmother’s home while serving a search warrant. America of course has a serious love affair with guns, and is violent as fuck. In saying that, the police are the most violent of us all. In the year 2024 police killed 956 people in America. That’s a lot of lives. In comparison England/Wales killed three (3) in 2024. Canada killed 69. Indonesia killed 77 people in 2019 (latest data I could scramble up in some free quick research). I chose Indonesia because their population size is similar.  America has a cop problem. Always has. The police force was born from wanting to inflict violence against slaves for escaping, and continued down its racist, classist, violent road and never looked in any other direction. Today it inflicts its reign of state terror down on the working class citizens of this country - either by fines, imprisonment, or murder. All to protect what comrades? That’s right. Capital. Property. That’s what cops are protecting. The wealth of the wealthy. They get away with their violence daily. This is supposed to be a civilized country, but yet we still have this institution of violence protecting the rich, and murdering innocent folk. It’s sick. Daevon Montez Saint-Germain. Say his name. The young man murdered by the state this week in South Knoxville. A high school senior with his life ahead of him. 1312. ACAB. Defund the police. 

How I’m coping with the pre-inauguration feels: Keeping a light heart in dark times can provide some relief. Laughing to help from crying can be beneficial. Only in doses though. One can only laugh so much in accordance with the tragic circumstances they find themselves in. Laughing only provides some outlet for the emotions that rage, rage inside. I find the humor in ‘ol Jimmy Carter. I use the term douche canoes to describe Trump’s cabinet in order to put some light on the situation. I try to find comedy where I can. I find a lot on TikTok. Dark comedy I guess it is? Where the situation is dark but we’re cracking up anyway. I think it’s a healthy way to cope if you’re not using it as a cover up. If you’re laughing “over” the pain and not “through” the pain then something is awry. Don’t cover up the rage, the anger, the heartache this pre-inauguration brings. Find a way to process. Laugh at the fact that RFK might bring back polio. I mean I guess laugh until kids are paralyzed and dying from it anyway. Then maybe fight? Or fight now. Before it gets worse. Before the kids are paralyzed. 

How am I fighting? Oh, I’m glad you asked. This week I’m fighting by taking my meds. My meds keep me stable and sharp. My meds are the foundation of my fight. I take them. They keep my brain from catching on fire, and burning this vessel down. After I take my meds, I eat. I eat whole plant based foods on the regular best I can. I avoid meat and animal products on a regular basis best I can. I drink only water, coffee (black), and tea (unsweetened) on the regular. This vessel can’t fight the fascists if it’s runnin on processed sugar and abused beef or chicken. After I care for my vessel with decent food intake I then move this vessel. I’ve walked/jogged a total of ten miles this week. Greenway walks. Which are great for my physical health, and tremendously good for my mental health. I even incorporated some sprinting into today’s walk. I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck right now because of this, but it’s good for me. A little pain never killed me. 

Besides the basics of caring for the vessel I’ve been reading. Mostly Buddhist text this week. Expanding my knowledge of Buddhism is always something I find empowering. Buddhism is definitely a leftist philosophy. I imagine some would say it’s above left and right, but nothing is above left and right. It’s in everything. Left and right is a philosophy of life. Fighting fascism, fighting for freedom for all, is a way of life. That’s why nothing is above it. That’s why Buddhism is leftist. That’s why I like to study it, and apply it to my life. That’s why I use it when fighting fascism. Buddhism keeps the mind sharp, the senses sharp, one’s presence sharp. Sharp enough to cut a fascist. 

Besides the basics and reading, I have also been writing. This post mostly. I give it a few minutes of my life every other day or so. I do fact gathering on the internet during this time as well. Doing research on the topics of the week that come up keeps me sharp and informed as well. Writing on such topics helps me process and understand. Writing is probably my favorite outlet for life. Just word vomiting all over this screen helps in oh so many ways. Helps clarify information. Helps solidify information. Helps release emotions. Helps process emotions. Writing does more than one can imagine. Definitely helps me fight fascism. Day in and day out. 

This week we have the City Council meeting coming up on Tuesday, January 7th. My partner and I plan on attending. This council meeting they’ll be discussing a hot topic issue of police surveillance. Amelia Parker, a city council member, has put out an extensive breakdown of what’s going down with the police department and why they’re asking for twenty-seven million of our tax dollars. You can find her breakdown on facebook or instagram. You should definitely be following the City Council Movement. Or join the City Council Movement and fight fascism. The police force will be how they force fascism. And we cannot give them more power. We must defund them - not give them more of our tax dollars. 1312. ACAB. 

It’s going to be a busy month y’all. It’s time to get involved. It’s time to prepare for what’s coming. We’re going on 15 days until the shit storm arrives. We’ve got 15 days to prepare as best we can. January 20th will be here before you know it, and we’re gonna be right in the beginning of this storm. The oligarchy cometh. Trump and his rich, classist, fucks will take over our government. They’re going to wreck havoc. We’ve got to pull together. We’ve got to gather with our communities and fight. We cannot let the third reich happen again. We cannot let racism, bigotry, and xenophobia win. We cannot let our government become bigger monsters than they already are. We must fight comrades. We must build community. We must believe in each other, and have hope for a healthier future. 

comrade h