When passing through Union Square Park in the 1950s, I liked to stop and watch the screamers. Their “message” was irrelevant; what drew me was the enraged delivery, like a bare knuckle fist fight.
The 1960s pitted love against hate. The young broke with their elders--trust no one over thirty—talked of flower power, lived in squalor and sexual defiance--make love, not war—men grew long hair. Its dark side was the murderous Manson Family, the Weather Underground that blew itself up, the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), that became the antithesis of its name. It was a mad romantic patchwork, and it changed society.
Is something like it brewing now? Occupy Wall Street, is growing instead of going, joined by the Transport Workers, while photos of the beefy white-shirted police officer casually pepper spraying four women (“like they were cockroaches,” said one commentator) have gone viral, seen by millions, and the NYC police department, after first “tut-tutting,” now speaks of investigating.
Another hate show is the Republican presidential debates, but someone behind the scenes realizes that not one has presidential chops, so the spotlight is on New Jersey’s Governor Chris Christie, who’s still saying no, only not as positively as before.
There are things to admire about Christie: his support of the Muslim judge he appointed, of gun control, that immigration is federal, his acceptance of global warming, and get this, his belief in Evolution. On the other hand, he is one angry guy. It comes across on the stump (many wish Obama was angrier) but in a president, it must be under control and Christie’s is not. When a woman had the temerity to ask why he cut public school funding while sending his own kids to private schools, he replied, “It’s none of your business!” Went on angrily that he paid property taxes to support public schools, and as governor was responsible for all schools, to end saying: “With all due respect, it’s none of your business.”
Instead of using the moment to explain kindly and reasonably that he wants his kids to have a religious education, he poured vitriol on the poor woman. Chris Christie is smart but hateful. And from how he talked to that woman, he's a bully. Sadly, he’s the best of a bad lot. If you want to hear that reply, here’s a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cm-fsq-aA5E