Savagery and Silence in the First World
by Sandy Leon Vest
CommonDreams.org: October 30, 2009
In America -- in my country -- I fear we are losing the battle for our
humanity. Some say we have already lost it.
Deep down I think they may be right.
Such is the level of violence, voyeurism and detachment displayed this
October in Richmond, California, when at least two dozen students cheered,
laughed or simply stood by and watched as a 15-year-old girl was repeatedly
raped, beaten and brutalized by an "unknown number of assailants."
This horrific act of terrorism took place in the parking lot of Richmond
High School, just yards away from where the school was holding its annual
homecoming dance.
One school administrator told a reporter that, "the dance itself was
successful."
It seems the perpetrators of the crime had also staged a "successful" event.
The assault reportedly went on for between two and three hours. During the
entire time, everyone was cool, no one freaked out, no one called 911.
Some of the onlookers took photos with their cell phones. Others were
composed enough to text their friends. Still another had the presence of
mind to take the victim's wallet before leaving the scene of the crime.
An officer at the scene could barely contain himself as he spoke to
reporters. "They treated [the rape] as if it were something to be viewed,"
he said. "Like an exhibit."
"She was raped, beaten, robbed and dehumanized by several suspects who were
obviously OK enough with it to behave that way in each other's presence,"
another patrol supervisor in the city's Northern Policing District in
Richmond said. "What makes it even more disturbing is the presence of
others. People came by, saw what was happening, and failed to report it."
*We Like to Watch *
"Being an American has become a spectator sport," wrote Bob Herbert recently
in his column for the New York Times.
Herbert was right.
The savage nature of the rape at Richmond High is horrific enough on its
own, yet at least as alarming is the national pandemic of 'violence as
spectator sport.'
The passive voyeurism of those who stood by cheering and laughing like an
audience at some macabre sideshow while their classmate was being ruthlessly
dehumanized is only one of many such incidents making news recently. This
phenomenon further demonstrates how complacent Americans have become even in
the face of unspeakable crimes and real life inhumanity.
Coincidentally, the cowardly act of terrorism that took place in Richmond,
California came virtually on the heels of a less publicized, but equally
disgusting display of soullessness. This one however, was perpetrated not by
thugs in a Richmond schoolyard but by 30 Republican Senators in the Hallowed
Halls of the US Senate when, in early October they opposed an amendment to
close a legal loophole denying employees of private defense contractors the
right to sue if sexually abused or gang raped while on the job.
The amendment, sponsored by Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.), was inspired by
the brutal gang rape of KBR employee Jamie Leigh Jones in 2005 by her fellow
employees. It passed on October 21 by a vote of 68-30 over the vehement
objections of Department of Defense, who lobbied the 'Gang of 30'
Republicans relentlessly. In a transparent attempt to justify their
unjustifiable position, DOD wrote in a memo to the Senate that, "Enforcement
would be problematic."
*The Savagery of Silence*
American youth have garnered an arguably well-deserved reputation for being
lazy, self-absorbed and detached from reality, a phenomenon that may well be
(at least in part) the result of too much television and gaming and not
enough natural and social contact. To be sure, television marked the
beginning of the 'spectator mentality,' and there is little doubt that the
high-tech industry, with its relentless hype of texting and tweeting on
trendy, over-priced toys has taken this spectatorship to a dangerous new
level.
Here in the US, most people understand that (if we have not already reached
it) we are approaching critical mass -- not only with respect to our
'spectator mentality' or our detached indifference to violence, but with
respect to almost everything. The problem isn't that we don't know what is
wrong. The problem is that we fail to act -- or to speak out -- even when we
do. This was no more apparent than when the mother of one of the alleged
perpetrators in the Richmond attack told police, "My son wouldn't do that.
He knows better."
I often read the comments of readers, many of whom express feelings of
hopelessness and despair over the degree to which American culture is
disintegrating or the state of the world in general. Others have nothing but
contempt for anyone with a shred of idealism or who (god-forbid), still
believe the American political system -- or Democracy itself -- can be
salvaged. Still others seem to be falling into darkness. I recall in
particular one reader who asked, "What good are all of your eloquent words?
No matter what you or anyone else says, America is hopelessly lost."
Those who make such comments might be interested to know that I actually
agree with most of them - - or at least with their basic sentiments. But
I've long since accepted that being an activist and a writer, futile though
it may be, is who I am. The ship may be going down, but like the orchestra
on the Titanic, I keep playing.
To those who content themselves with sitting in the bleachers heckling
rather than doing or sneering rather than speaking out, I would submit that
the process of de-humanization is a slow and stealthy one. Like the incident
at Richmond High School or the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan or
over-consumption waste and greed, de-humanization requires at least some
degree of complicity.
One click and it can cross over.
*Sandy Leon Vest is a radio and print journalist and the editor-publisher
of SolarTimes, an independent quarterly energy newspaper with a progressive
point of view. SolarTimes is available online at www.solartimes.org, and
distributed in hardcopy throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.
Sandy Leon Vest's work has been published nationally, as well as
internationally, and includes 15 years at KPFA Radio in Berkeley, CA.*
***
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/31/opinion/31herbert.html?th&emc=th
Constraining America's Brightest
By BOB HERBERT
NY Times Op-Ed: October 30, 2009
That period right after college graduation is when young people tend to
think they can set the world on fire. Careers are starting, and
relationships in the broader world are forming. It's exciting, and optimism
is off the charts.
So the gloomy outlook that this economy is offering so many of America's
brightest young people is not just disconcerting, it's a cultural shift, a
harbinger. "Attention," as the wife of a fictional salesman once said, "must
be paid."
Maggie Mertens graduated in May from Smith College, where she was an editor
of the student newspaper. She applied for "tons" of jobs and internships,
probably 50 or more. "I was totally unemployed all summer," she said. She
eventually landed an internship at NPR in Washington, which she described as
"awesome," but it is unpaid.
"I was lucky enough," she said, "to connect up with a family that let me
live with them for free in exchange for watching their baby a few times a
week." But there was still no money coming in. So in addition to the
40-hour-a-week internship and the baby-sitting chores, Ms. Mertens is doing
part-time seasonal work at a Whole Foods store.
Welcome to the new world of employment in America as we approach the second
decade of the 21st century.
Josh Riman graduated from Syracuse University in 2006. "I had a job at a
great advertising agency," he said, "but was laid off in 2007. I found a job
the next day, amazingly enough, and worked at this next advertising shop for
about a year and a half. Then, on my birthday, the place went bankrupt. We
all lost our jobs."
Since then, Mr. Riman has been doing freelance and "pro bono" work. He has
been unable to find anything even reasonably secure.
As jobs become increasingly scarce, more and more college graduates are
working for free, at internships, which is great for employers but something
of a handicap for a young man or woman who has to pay for food or a place to
live.
"The whole idea of apprenticeships is coming back into vogue, as it was 100
years ago," said John Noble, director of the Office of Career Counseling at
Williams College. "Certain industries, such as the media, TV, radio and so
on, have always exploited recent graduates, giving them a chance to get into
a very competitive field in exchange for making them work for no - or low -
pay. But now this is spreading to many other industries."
Lonnie Dunlap, who heads the career services program at Northwestern
University and has been advising young people on careers since the mid-70s,
said today's graduates are experiencing the worst employment market she's
ever seen.
"There's a sense of huge emotional anxiety among our students," she said.
The young people are not only having trouble finding work themselves; many
feel a sense of obligation to parents who are struggling with job losses and
home foreclosures.
"In the past two years," said Ms. Dunlap, "we have seen a huge uptick in the
number of recent alums coming back for services because they still haven't
found work, as well as midcareer alums who have been laid off and need our
help."
Like Mr. Noble, she mentioned the growing use of interns versus paid
employees and said she can see the value of such unpaid work for some recent
graduates, "though, of course, not everyone can afford to do that."
Despite the expansion of the gross domestic product in the quarter that
ended in September, there is no sign of the kind of recovery in employment
that would be needed to bring the American economy and the economic
condition of American families back to robust health. It would be nice if
some of the politicians and economists so obsessed with the G.D.P. would
take a moment to look out the window at what is happening with real people
in the real world.
They might see Laura Ram, who graduated from Baruch College in New York in
May 2007. She was laid off from a full-time job almost exactly a year ago
and hasn't worked since. She's been diligent about submitting applications
and showing up at job fairs and so on, but nothing has come close to panning
out.
"I haven't gone on a single interview," she said, "which manages to shock
just about my entire family."
These recent graduates have done everything society told them to do. They've
worked hard, kept their noses clean and gotten a good education (in many
cases from the nation's best schools). They are ready and anxious to work.
If we're having trouble finding employment for even these kids, then we're
doing something profoundly wrong.
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