Dena Eakles

Love’s Opposite

It has been 20 years since the gruesome murder of Matthew Shepherd. Shepherd was a young gay man and the violence surrounding his death led to the creation of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, also known as the Matthew Shepard Act. It is an American Act of Congress, passed on October 22, 2009, and signed into law by President Barack Obama on October 28, 2009.

Controversy came to this case in the form of a challenge as to whether it was in fact a hate crime. The claim is that one of the men accused of the murder previously had sex with Matthew. Drugs and theft were also given as the reasons why the death of Matthew Shepherd should not be considered a crime of hate.

I had to dig a bit to understand all of the twisted thinking regarding this case. After a bit of reflection and reading about the case, the statements made by the killers and the reasons given to dismiss this as a crime of hate, I have come to this: people wanting to dismiss Matthews murder as a hate crime are willing to ignore the obvious. And what is the obvious? Self-loathing is the darkest form of hate. It leads people to do all sorts of horrific acts. And while the secondary drug and robbery issues may be credible, they are symptoms, not answers.

Self – hatred born of society’s judgment of good versus bad, the demand for strict adherence to gender, the hierarchical construct of hyper masculinity and the acceptance of violence are not new.

It was witnessed in the early rise of Nazi Germany and the acceptance of an openly known homosexual leader, Ernst Rohm. Rohm was instrumental in the early rise of Hitler; some have even suggested sexual relations between the two. Hitler’s early discussions regarding homosexuality were to ignore it or to consider it the outcome of “raucous warriors”. But as the purification of the Aryan nation took a stronger hold, Hitler began the “cleansing” of anyone deemed to have imperfect character. Rohm was the most prominent homosexual and highest-ranking Nazi official to be killed during the Night of the Long Knife, June 30 – July 2, 1934, at Hitler’s request.

Closer to home we have Roy Cohen, a lawyer who worked for Joe McCarthy, Ronald Reagan and eventually Donald J. Trump, to have a closer look at self loathing which manifests in harming others. Cohn was instrumental in targeting many government officials and cultural icons for suspected Communist ties, and also for alleged homosexuality.

In a 2008 article published in The New Yorker magazine, Roger Stone (who worked closely with Cohen during Reagan’s presidential run) was quoted as saying: “Roy was not gay. He was a man who liked having sex with men. Gays were weak, effeminate. He always seemed to have these young blond boys around. It just wasn’t discussed. He was interested in power and access.”

Roy Cohn died in 1986, of complications from AIDS, at the age of 59. He never admitted he had the disease.

So when you tell me the young men who savagely killed the well-known gay man were not consumed by hate, I think there is plenty of historical evidence to the contrary.

Self-loathing is the darkest form of hate. It leads people to injustice and to murder. We would be wise to not ignore it. We would be wise to not encourage the mindset that breeds it.

Our Greatness

I believe the time for shaking our heads is over. The time for feeling despondent over current affairs must be left behind. And no, I am not telling you that there is a new politician or a political platform that you need to rush to support. If you haven’t noticed, the political body is broken. We have handed the reins on things that matter to people who have left their humanity behind. Both sides.

In recent days the president has again reminded us of our “greatness” and asserted “we are not going to apologize for America”. Almost simultaneously the Supreme Court upheld a North Dakota law designed to shut out the voting rights of the five tribes in that state. And while the media runs wild with the story inciting anger and helplessness, something very interesting is happening. The tribes are helping one another jump through the nearly impossible hoops to enable our disenfranchised citizenry to vote on Tuesday, November sixth. They are not giving up.

To me, this is the story.

And in the end whether they succeed or fail, it will not matter. What matters is the fact that they are not giving up. What matters is they are drawing upon the wisdom and the resilience available to all of us. They are being creative. They are being human.

Far too many of us are content with being malcontent. We are ok throwing emojis at our screens to prove our indignation. We are ok with feeling helpless and divided. But that is not being human.

Here is the heart of it: wherever we are, whatever we are doing: Do not give up. There is strength in our humanity that we have yet to draw upon. There is power in our unity that we have not yet touched. Our greatness awaits us.

This aired on 10/28 on WDRT‘s Consider This. You can also listen on Soundcloud

What We Can Do

This week brought us two game changers: Hurricane Michael and the United Nations’ report on climate change. Michael is being touted as the fourth largest hurricane to hit the United States and the United Nations’ report issued a dire warning. We have twelve years to reduce our emissions or face catastrophic challenges worldwide. Lessor known was the explosion of a gas pipeline. Pipeline ruptures continue to disrupt peoples’ lives and destroy the environment. Yet our fracked gas and tar sands oil are heralded as “progress” and an economic boon, as we supply the world with fossil fuels.

Indonesia lost over 2000 people to the tsunami. If national or international news is too much to bear, we have the flooding of the Kickapoo to understand this perilous moment in time. The devastation wreaked on our communities followed by unprecedented rain is forcing us to realize Nature can no longer be ignored.

What we know is this: the amount of fossil fuel energy we burn is no longer sustainable. The destruction to the environment is not justifiable. We must face the simple truth: Our dependent relationship with fossil fuels must end. The brighter note is this: the conversion to renewable living will help enliven our communities.

Creating local renewable energy, buying locally produced foods and goods will dramatically reduce our carbon footprint.

There is nothing to be confused about; there is nothing to fear. The report’s reckoning is that it has finally come down to each of us. Consume less. Period. We have educated ourselves into becoming a consumer nation and we can educate ourselves into becoming a sustainable one. There are critical choices ahead. Choices we each must make regardless of our corporate government. We are not victims. We hold the key. Choose.

*I found the poster pictured here at a recent event in La Crosse and discovered the amazing work of Christi Belcourt

**You can listen to this offering for “Consider This” on my Soundcloud page.

You can listen to “Consider This” live every Thursday evening at 5:28 pm CST on WDRT

Bring Love to Desperate Times

In these times that seem so desperate, I reflect upon the life of my Grandmother, Josephine Paparella, who came to this country at the age of sixteen searching for a better life. She married a hometown sweetheart, Anthony Mignanelli and began a family in Pennsylvania. Within months after bearing their eighth child her husband was killed, leaving her alone to raise the children through the Depression. She grew the family’s food and baked bread in an outdoor oven selling it to make ends meet. She did this with the support of family and community, but she also did it against mounting pressures of a society fearing immigrants and a government who thought it best to take her children away.

She fought to keep her children and she won. Much of this I learned after she had passed.

What I knew of her was that she loved me. What I know is that she did not express remorse for her lot in life. She cared if I was warm and fed. She cared about her children, the garden and her neighbors. What I know is that she taught me about determination and will through her actions. What I know is that she did her best. I have heard that she used an Italian expression very often. It loosely translated to this: “If everyone were to leave their troubles in the middle of a room, you would pick your own troubles and carry on.”

She carried on. She endured. And I carry her legacy proudly.

These are desperate times, but the solutions remain in front of us. Love. Carry your burdens with dignity and hope. Work to make it better, not just for yourself, but also for everyone. We have fallen prey to the worst the human spirit offers. Now it is our turn to rise to the best. I remembered my Grandmother today as I awoke to a new reality before me. The floods and constant rain have made it a desperate time here. It is much the same or worse in many places throughout the world. I refuse to be desperate. As long as I have a heart full of love, as long as I give myself to appreciation for this life and for the Good that continues to find me, I am at peace.

Armed with peace, we will be able to make a way out of no way. Arm yourself with peace, my friends, and roll up your sleeves. There is work ahead. Remember those who came before you and work for those yet unborn. Let love win.

When a crime is not a crime…

I wrote this piece one week ago. Before the circus of today’s “hearing”. Before another woman was forced to grovel to be heard and before a man, another powerful white man, expounded with alternating incredulousness and anger. We have caused him great unrest these past eleven days… And the torment, the anguish and years of a victim were lessened with each tear he shed. I would have found Judge Kavanaugh more sympathetic had he simply stood before the committee and said, “I am sorry for what this woman has been through, but I am not your man.” I could have found respect for him as a man, had he demonstrated the capability to understanding the bigger picture. And I would have trusted him with justice had I heard him say, “Sure bring on the FBI.” But he did none of these. He did what every well heeled white male has learned to do. Keep on walking on, keep on talking…

Written and read for WDRT’s “Consider This”. You can listen on Soundcloud:

As I write this the latest #metoo blockbuster threatens to derail the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh. The accuser is Doctor Christine Blasey Ford. I prefer to use her title unlike most news reports, which refrain from doing so. Since coming forward with her story Dr. Ford has suffered death threats, has moved her children from their family home and is battling to ensure that she does not receive the same mistreatment as Anita Hill.

Judge Kavanaugh and his friend have become silent. Perhaps they are becoming cognizant of the fact that attempted rape, kidnapping and participation in any way are crimes that have no statute of limitation in the state of Maryland. And Maryland is where the alleged crime(s) were committed over thirty years ago.

Regardless of the outcome, neither Ford nor Kavanaugh will win this battle. To the public they will carry the burden of this moment and the alleged moments for the rest of their days.

One can only hope however that there will be a big loser in all of this. And to my thinking that loser should be patriarchy.

These men are innocent until proven guilty, yes. But the sideshow circus surrounding this mess is 100% guilty of missing the point. And here I agree with our president. It is time we drain the swamp. How many more women who come forward will have their reputations smeared? How many men will diminish the violence against women as normal behavior? And how many men and women will blame the women and excuse the men? This is patriarchy run amuck and it is time to see it end.

This absolute nonsense is brought to us by a culture that refuses to put men in check. And in that regard we are all culpable.

*I picked this human trafficking image because of all we do not wish to see…when a crime is not a crime…

Hypocrisy

While politicians and the press keep us entertained and distracted, Mother Nature seems right on course to help us remember who is boss and what’s important.

The flood of the Coulee Region left a lot of people scrambling. Hurricane Florence is about to do the same.

I also learned of a pipeline explosion in my native home, Beaver County Pennsylvania. This from a pipeline that went active only one week prior and from the same company many of us faced at Standing Rock – Energy Transfer Partners. The cause? Too much rain too quickly shifted the earth.

I know a lot of family and friends believe the security of our nation is dependent on those pipelines. They rally for big business and are happy to see the current administration upend legislation that has protected the environment. They want to see less government, but neglect to see the cause and effects of climate change hastened by this laissez-faire attitude.

Me? I scratch my head and wonder why we are so quick to sell out the gift of Nature. Why we bull headedly hold onto ideas that not only undermine us but future generations as well.

There is a disease I am beginning to recognize. It is called hypocrisy.

There is a cure for this disease. And it is a simple one. Accept and recognize that we are all in this together. All of us. Governments come, governments go. Businesses come and go. Some have held our best interests some have not.

We will never conquer Nature. And it is best we do not try. Instead let us learn from her and work with her for the mutual benefit of all. It is possible. Disasters continually show us this. Now let us learn without Nature’s prompting.

This piece aired Sept 12. You can listen to it here.

The photo is of Beaver County, Pennsylvania.

hy·poc·ri·sy

həˈpäkrəsē/

noun

the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one’s own behavior does not conform

Turn Around

I once heard someone say, “If you find yourself at the end of your road with no where else to go – turn around.”*

Due to the recent deluge and flooding the stories are mounting of those forced from their homes, of businesses lost, of communities shattered. Many of us are reckoning with choices we never dreamed would come. “Lost everything” is becoming a common phrase as we survey gutted buildings and possessions washed away.

“If you find yourself at the end of your road – turn around”. And that is what we are doing. Turn around and find a friend, turn around and find an outstretched hand with a plate of food or clothes for the children. Turn around and see the results of neighbor helping neighbor. Yes there are tears for what is lost but there is also recognition that this can be a new beginning. Out of the muck, out of the mud we rise.

There are things we could have done differently. There are things we should have done differently. But we are able to begin again and that is a rare gift. In Japan there is an art of fixing broken pottery. It is done with love and with great care and the repaired broken vessels are cherished.

Let us proceed with great care with one another and with this precious land we call home. The cracks in our spirits and in our homes are real. Some can be mended, some must be left, but the very, very good news is this: we are here.

“If you find yourself at the end of your road – turn around.” Turn around to remember who we are. Turn around to remember who you are. We can do this.

This piece aired on WDRT’s Consider This September 6. You can listen to it here.

Coulee region flooding clean-up 2018 is a good resource to know how and where to plug in to help.

*Quote by Prem Rawat

Photo compliments of Kelly Yates.

Our Changing Nature

There are many who travel from air-conditioned car to air conditioned office and home again. Fabulous grocery stores provide all that is needed and while news of environmental disasters may come, most still escape being rocked by Nature’s upheaval. The glass of water (at least) looks crystal clear and the air, well, it’s good enough, right?

From where I sit this is the breeding ground for climate change denial. Politicians and scientists tell us that Nature is simply doing what Nature does and our lifestyles have no implication in the rising tide of environmental disasters looming before us. By and large, if we are not affected it’s not happening.

But for those who live close to the land, the ones filling your fabulous grocery stores, the realities of climate change do not require scientific validation or corporate slight of hand. It is a daily reality.

The rains come. Fires come. Droughts come. They have and always will. We must not fear Nature. We must live with Nature and we must help one another. It is time that we acknowledge our part in climate change. It is time that we alter our course for our children and those yet to come. We have been distracted by the lure of creature comforts and the unwillingness to change, but change is part of Nature as are we, and she is rocking our collective boat.

I do not know how the people of our precious region will resolve living with unprecedented flooding. But you know what people are made of when you witness how they face hardship. The human spirit, when given the chance is resilient. And at its best it is humble. We are being humbled, now let us be resilient, and let us be wise.

This piece aired on WDRT‘s Consider This, Thursday, August 30th following the furious rains and severe flooding of the Kickapoo Valley and other parts of Wisconsin. You can listen to it here.

View drone footage of the flooding of Ontario. Taken by Aldis Strazdins of Wilton.

Neighbors helping neighbors and seen through the eyes of the award winning The County Line.

Beyond Prison Reform

On August 21st, inmates in 17 states began one of the largest prison strikes in our history. The two-week peaceful protest will end September 9th. Inmates are abandoning their work duties and some are refusing food to call attention to the exploitive conditions in United States prisons.

We have the largest prison population and the highest per capita incarceration rate in the entire world. Nearly one in every 100 adults is in prison or jail.

Ok, so much of that is known, but how many of us know that corporations and businesses use the prison work force for manufacturing and service jobs? And there is little to no compensation given for injuries resulting from their work. Recent news exposed the story that inmates were given $1 an hour to fight the California fires.

Less widely known is the fact that investment companies enable prison industries to thrive. Your retirement accounts are most likely contributing to these practices amounting to modern day slavery.

This is what we need to know. We need to know these are peaceful protests by inmates asking for their humanity to be recognized and restored. We need to know they are asking for proper wages and for more rehabilitation services. And they are demanding an end to the over-sentencing and parole denials of non-white inmates.

There is much more to this story, like the way lobbying groups fight for more industrialized and privately owned prisons. Much is done behind the closed doors of politics and the media is slow to rise against its master. We cannot fight what we do not see. It is time to open our eyes and unravel this horrible mess we have created.

Support the protest, boycott the companies and divest. It is time.

This aired on WDRT’s Consider This, Thursday, August 23. You can listen to it here.

photo is creative commons on Pixabay.

One Thread

Sometimes I can’t help feeling we have gone incredibly off kilter. Far too many are sinking in modern day madness. While scores of statistics remind us of our fragility as human beings and as a culture, we seem incapable of pausing long enough to right the ship. We have not yet learned the truth: What happens to one happens to all.

Discussions on mental health and mental illness are on the rise, yet the inadequacies of our systems are glaringly obvious. Money for the war machine is boundless, yet too many veterans are homeless. Good clean food is important to healthy bodies and healthy minds, but we reward our small farmers by allowing them to fail. “In God We Trust”, or so we have been led to believe, yet we tighten our borders and condemn the needy.

The inconsistencies of our society could drive anyone mad. And it is. But I do not think it is an umbrella of thought that will unite us or drive the demons away. It must come back to this: We are tied together in one thread of consciousness.

What happens to one happens to all. Our fear of “other” is a symptom of sickness, not a course of action we are meant to follow. We are not meant to follow.

As I take time to ponder our willingness to be led by politics, religion and the economic grind, I am heartened by the courage and vision of the many refusing to succumb.

This is the thread of humanity that has held the world together through reigns of tremendous ignorance. It is found in tree sitters halting the pipelines, in police refusing to serve at borders, and in backyards and acres of those growing food for themselves and others. There is a pulse, a thread of consciousness that unites us. And it is on the rise.

This aired on WDRT’s Consider This, August 16, 2018.

Author: Dena Eakles