Authoritarian Democracy

We live in a democratic society.

I wake up in the morning and go to work. I follow orders or get sacked. I obey. I don't ask. I need money to buy life. I can't afford to question.

We live in a democratic society.

For the lucky ones who have a job, half of their awake-time is spent in an authoritarian institution where you do as somebody else says or else lose the source of a dignified life.

We live in a democratic society.

We have choices. Not free choices. Choices that are marked by a constant threat of a life of poverty. A guy with a gun to his head can choose to die. But he has the choice. That is the logic we're offered.

We live in a democratic society.

Yet all around us, life is managed by authoritarian methods. Companies, stores and offices. Where is the democracy? We have democracy on our books. Authoritarianism in our lives. Democracy every 5 years. Authoritarianism for the rest of the time.

We live in a democratic society.

We don't live democracy.

Britney Aguilera did it...

If the seas between Malta and Gozo were shark infested, and if speed boats were constantly crossing by, and if crossing the sea would give you all the prestige and power in the world, would you try and swim across? And if for every person that manages to cross it, a million get killed, injured or paralysed in the way, would you say you have a good chance of making it? Would you take comfort in the fact that it is possible? How realistic would you say your chances are? Slim? Next to nothing? One in a million? Would you be part of such a charade? Would you waste your life trying to get there? Would hard work and commitment be a shield against jaws? Would persistence block any passing boats? Would self-assurance be your dingy? Would it be reasonable to have the one in a million who somehow manages to make it parading as the symbol of a great opportunity? Wouldn't looking at the others who worked hard but didn't make it be the reality check you'd need?

What is the point of all this, you may be asking? Simple. Just because Britney Aguilera did it, doesn't mean that you can. Just because Justin Williams did it doesn't mean that everybody can. Equal Opportunity is next to Santa Clause in a pot of lovely myths that keep us hoping and hierarchy-happy. How long would you play a game with rigged rules?

Sandinista

People usually put a funny look on their faces when I tell them that Sandinista is my favourite Clash album. London Calling is the expected answer. While I do agree that London Calling is The Clash's best offering I still prefer Sandinista. The fact that Sandinista was written and recorded in a span of three weeks make it all that more special. It represents a peak in a three week creative process by The Clash. But Sandinista was my favourite before I was aware of the above fact. Then, why, I hear you ask, is all this enthusiasm about a triple album with a lot of filler?

Maybe it is its versatility that draws me to it. The switching of styles. The going from funk to punk to jazz and waltz to dub and reggae and anything in between. It captures The Clash's eclectic essence. Plus, there's also the politics. Sandinista has some great lyrics. Who can forget the image of Marx & Engels in a 7-11? Don't you imagine Marx digging deep in his pocket to find nothing but a pawn shop ticket? What about the world politics class in Washington Bullets? The descriptive haunting lyrics of Let's Go Crazy? The gloom of Rebel Waltz? The straight to the point The Leader, the inspiring One More Time and the frantic Police On my Back? All great songs from a great album which does not take itself too seriously.

Of course the filler makes it less accessible but still I find myself going back to this great album again. Thanks Joe. Thanks Mick, Topper and Paul.

Do you remember the days of slavery?

I'm sure many of you have caught the recent campaign by MTV against women trafficking and sex slavery. I think it's a commendable campaign and a necessary one. It's tragic how so many women have their dreams and lives shattered by being forced into this slavery. It makes you think though.

Why is sex slavery abhorring? What makes it so? The sex bit or the slavery part? If this industry is, as indeed it is, abhorring because it is slavery then why stop at that? I mean, slavery is behind most of the things bought and sold in today's global market. Why stop at sex slavery? Aren't the sweatshops which employ women and children for 16 hours a day for mere cents also equivalent to slavery? Isn't being beaten, threatened and even killed for attempting to improve your working conditions tantamount to slavery? Aren't supervisors sporting sub-machine guns condemnable too? What is different? Why does MTV not carry such a campaign? What about slavery inside prisons?

In my eyes it is quite simple. The people behind the sex industry are generally unknown criminals. The people behind sweatshops are businessmen. Big businessmen. Brands that MTV needs for advertising money. MTV cares more about its image than anything else. It just wants to look progressive. Think about all the campaigns MTV does. Not one has an identifiable culprit. The ones that come to mind are about racism, AIDS and the sex industry. All commendable causes mind you. And all are necessary campaigns, but it's apparent conscious effort to take up causes without identifiable guilty parties is fishy to say the least. The way I see it is that MTV just wants to take up 'safe' causes. The day MTV campaigns against all slavery and calls for a boycott against established companies who use such production methods, is the day that I start taking it seriously.

For further information about sweatshops go to:

www.sweatshops.org

www.behindthelabel.org

www.nlcnet.org

That day I don't like...

Yes, you guessed it. It's a Monday.

That's what reggae band Black Uhuru sang 25 years ago and that's what I think every Monday. The Monday dread is as close to a universal feeling as one can probably get. The weekend ends and another round ensues. Ding!.

Thank God for the weekend. It gives you a chance to catch up on what your work interferes with. That's the function of it. Like holidays, the weekend serves to keep us coming back for more. I wonder how long we'd take it if we did not have short breaks to recapture our energy and our work ethic. That's it. Take a vacation every year and come back all fresh for another year of boring, monotonous and uncreative work. Come back to Maggie's Farm. Come back with 'a head full of ideas that' drives you insane (Dylan, 1965). That's the irony of life under capitalism. When you have the time to do stuff, you don't afford it. When you have the money to do things, you don't have the time. Take comfort in the fact that Maggie's Farm is productive and keep waiting for the trickling to begin.

Speaking of Dylan, I just got hold of a great album this weekend. It's a reggae tribute to one of the two greatest Bobs. It's great to hear some of Dylan's greatest tracks played to a one drop beat and chilled skanking. Is it Rolling Bob? Yes mate. I think it is.

One last thing. My locality had local council elections last Saturday. As an exemplary citizen I went to vote. I had my headphones on, listening to my favourite Clash album, Sandinista. As I was walking in the police officer at the door stopped me and looking at my earphones, said: "Is that a mobile?"! Yeah, good job officer. If you can't tell the difference between a mobile and a pair of earphones, I wonder if you're able to spot, let alone, catch the baddies. Two doughnuts to go...

"gib erba pastizzi maghhom Chal..."

Blogger Fashion

I'm not a blogger. I only signed up to post a comment in Guze's page. But now that I have one, I'll use it.

What are it's implications?

In a world where all space is advertising space and up for sale, having a space of expression is not only desirable but absolutely necessary. Whether it's a sticker on a bus stop, a song on a cd, or a book in a library reclaiming space for our personal and creative expression is a must. It's a struggle we all need to undertake if we want to be more than just workers and consumers. It's a way to counter the messages that are fed to us every day. Why is everybody trying to sell me everything? Why do they want my money, when they have enough to hijack space?

I don't ask to see billboards on my way to Valletta and neither do I expect to enter a jar of coffee when boarding a bus. The dual nature of the messages imparted through these ads may not be as obvious and visible as their thirst for sales. All ads promote a different product but all of them promote the same idea. Excessive consumption is reinforced with every sexy looking women on a car and with every celebrity endorsement of sweatshop made trainers. A lack of counter ideas to challenge and question the culture of consumption render it an indisputable reality. A reality which feels immovable and absolute. A reality which becomes normal, part of life and a template for 'the way things are'. Nothing is more sad than the feeling of powerlessness that the system trickles down on us. This feeling of powerlessness is a prerequisite for an co-operative consumer and an unquestioning citizen. Who said that things cannot change? And why should we believe it?

Of course, the writing needs to be read, the music needs to be heard and the message needs to come across. No blog can get an audience to compare with the audience of ads. But an audience comes after creating a space for expression.

Reclaim some space today. Get an audience tomorrow.