The Revolution Will Not Be Twitterized

The recent decision by the US Patent Office that the Washington Redskins football team will lose their trademark protection (on the grounds that the term "Redskins" is inherently insulting to an entire group of people and therefore can not be trademark protected) is a notable victory for Native Americans who have long protested the derogatory name. Amongst all the media speculation about the significances of the decision one question nobody seems the slightest bit interested in asking is; "What does Suey Park think about this?". It would seem her fifteen minutes are truly up.

Suey Park, you may recall, was the "Twitter Activist" responsible for the "#CancelColbert" twitstorm a few months back in which she called for Stephen Colbert to be fired after a joke he had made in response to Redskins owner Dan Snyder's attempts to defuse (or distract) criticism by starting a foundation to combat racism against Natives. Colbert then announced that he would therefore be starting his own bullshit anti-racist foundation stating; "I am willing to show the Asian community I care by introducing the Ching-Chong Ding-Dong Foundation for Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever." This was the punchline of a joke that made sense in the context of the show and his character of a right-wing TV blowhard and with a lengthy set-up. However when afterwards a Comedy Centre staffer sent out a tweet using only the punchline with no context Suey Park seized on this to claim the joke was racist and therefore sent out tweets demanding that Colbert be "cancelled". These tweets were eventually retweeted (more on this later) and promoted in the mainstream media to the extent that it became an actual news story for a few days (it was over a weekend) and Colbert was roused to a typically witty and insightful response.

COLBERT RESPONDS TO PARK;


You don't have to have followed the news slavishly to have noticed that Colbert was not in fact cancelled. Unlike other TV hosts who have found themselves the target of actual boycotts, as opposed to twitstorms (looking in your directions Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck), Colbert didn't even lose any sponsors. Coincidentally soon thereafter he was however awarded the much coveted position of David Letterman's successor hosting the Late Show. The surely had nothing to do with the twitstorm but CBS obviously saw no need to delay it either, let alone reconsider. It would seem that "Hashtag Activism" has it's limits.

COLBERT GETS LETTERMAN'S JOB, RIGHTWINGERS THROW TANTRUM;


So who is the leader of this brave new world of the Twitter "Revolution"? Suey Park is a California based 23 year old self-described "activist, writer and comedian"; although nobody in the comedy world seems to have heard of her before and if she has any comedy skills they have not exactly on display. At any rate Park had previously gotten success, of a sort, in her previous attack on January 14 of "Liberal Racists" at CBS sitcom "How I Met Your Mother" who had done a sketch satirizing Kung Fu movies. This campaign had gotten coverage by CNN, Time Magazine and Cosmopolitan and an apology from the show's co-creator.

ANOTHER RIGHTWING TANTRUM;


Park was known, to the extent that she was known at all, by her Twitter handle "NotYourAsianSidekick" starting in December of 2013 the point of which was to hunt down and point out examples of Asian racism on television and the movies. While Park has been the public face of the campaign it was in fact a co-operative organized by Park and feminist writer Juliet Shen, Eunsong Kim, a PHD candidate in literature and a few other supporters including Wall Street Journal writer Jeff Yang along and an Asian organization called "18 Million Rising" . Other previous targets included attacks on Saturday Night Live which attracted little attention until "How I Met You Mother" blinked. Showing an all-to-revealing pattern of attention seeking false modesty Park managed to take sole credit while pretending to thank the nameless little people posting;
"The viral success of #NotYourAsianSidekick after I first tweeted the tag on December 15, 2013, wasn't about me, but all of us." By February, Shen and 18 Million Rising had fallen out with Park (Shen now describes her as a "former friend") and Yang who wrote an article daring to question the validity of the entire hashtag revolution and was immediately denounced as a sexist by Park. By that point she was more or less a solo act, although she still has the support of Kim. She also has 23,000 Twitter followers and a listing on The Guardian's "Top 30 Young People In Digital Media". The Guardian article did not deign to mention Shen or the others.

NOT READY FOR MY CLOSE UP;

Still despite the media attention she had gotten to that point, and her obvious desire to grab the spotlight did not guarantee she would actually shine when it came. Exhibit A became the embarrassing interview she did with Salon's Prachi Gupta in May. Salon had been quick to give the whole #CancelColbert campaign coverage, and not hostile coverage either, so when they decided to do a full interview she was no doubt pleased and should have been prepared. The results were a P.R. disaster showing the self-appointed leader of the "Revolution" and spokesperson of all Asian-Americans, especially "Asian-Feminists" to be a walking, talking maze of identity politics, talking points left over from the 1990's, along with being a laughably self-absorbed, utterly humorless, smug prig with a wholly deluded sense of her own power and importance.

Right from the start it did not go well;
Did you watch the Monday night segment on the “Colbert Report”? No, and I think that’s an irrelevant question.
Why do you think that’s an irrelevant question?
Because you’re still trying to understand my context, rather than the reaction and the conversation that I was trying to create.
You don’t think understanding your context is just as important?
I don’t think so.
Why is that?
I think it was just an opportunity to use hyperbole in a way to make social commentary, which is what the [unintelligible] would want to do to begin with. So in that sense, it’s not about understanding context, it’s never about understanding nuance and complexity of a white man’s joke, when a woman of color is always read as literal, when to me it was never a literal hashtag. And so it’s all this like, “What can we do to get you to understand context,” like, “What did you know, what did you not know,” like, “You don’t understand satire, you didn’t see the show,” etc. … When the question is really, what is so complex about understanding someone who is both a writer and an activist, understanding how I use satire and hyperbole to make a political commentary."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So there. Fuck context. The only thing that matters is the reaction you get from manufactured outrage? No wonder she belongs on Twitter. Any more than 140 characters might, you know, explain stuff and allow for nuance and we wouldn't want that to get in the way of sneering self-righteous resentment. She has more in common with Fox News than she would care to admit. Notice also how she adds in that "it was never literal" proviso. She (and Kim) have done this in another article for the New York Times where she said that she didn't really want the show to be literally cancelled so she's not a censor happy racial Anthony Comstock after all, never mind that in the same interview she asserts that she was indeed totally serious about cancelling Colbert. Since Park is clearly not a complete idiot I assume she doesn't really think she can get TV shows cancelled that she doesn't like, although you can't really be sure with her. But it's worth noting that part of her defense is basically to say "Can't you take a joke?". Which of course is exactly the defense she denies to Colbert. Why? Because he's a white guy of course.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"In that case, do you think that “The Colbert Report” itself is oppressive or just that specific joke or comment was oppressive?
Neither.
Neither?
I’m talking about whiteness at large."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So the whole publicity stunt was just an excuse to attack whitey? And thereby bring about the "revolution"? Park thinks that's never been done before? Let me introduce you to "The Tawana Bradley fake rape case" and the "O.J. Simpson was framed by the police" case. At least they ended racism with those so it was totally worth it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I think as a result of the white ally industrial complex, for too long people of color have been asked to censor whiteness, they have been asked to educate their oppressor, they have been asked to use the right tone, and appease their politics in order to be heard.
….when are we actually going to have these conversations about how white supremacy has caused Orientalism, slavery and genocide? When will we actually touch on those big things? And I don’t think that we’ve seen that yet in comedy, and I do think it’s possible, but no one is ready to flip the switch to make the white person the subject of the archetype."
I always paint my white characters to be singular, to be ignorant, to reverse the gaze onto them instead when they are our subjects, instead of always constantly saying people of color are fucked and a way to kind of always reinforce our subject’s location in reference to white men as some metaphor.I think it would be a more realistic socially commentary if I were able to joke about the totality of white supremacy, but I don’t think that’s going to happen on national television."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Right. Because Richard Pryor, Dave Chapell, Eddie Murphy, The Wayans Bros, Spike Lee, Dick Gregory, Arsenio Hall, Wanda Sykes, Russell Peters and for that matter Margaret Cho were just a bunch of sell outs. I mean did Dick Gregory and Richard Pryor even have Twitter accounts? What a bunch of small timers. But wait it gets worse;
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What is the best way to work with white people, to get them on our side?
I don’t want them on our side.
You don’t want them on your side.
This is not reform, this is revolution."




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well yes; we all saw that scene in Spike Lee's "Malcom X" where he tells that white liberal college girl "We don't want your help". Too bad she didn't watch the rest of the movie where he changes his mind and decides that working together to fight racism is kind of a good idea. But then watching the whole movie might conjure up context which we know is counter-productive. Not to mention counter-revolutionary.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So what do you want to see happen in your revolution?
I mean, it’s already happening I think. The revolution will not be an apocalypse, it’s gonna be a series of shifts in consciousness that result in actions that come about, and I think that like, at this point is really like, ride or die, in terms who’s in and who is out. I don’t play by appeasement politics, it is not about getting my oppressors to humanize me. And in that sense I reject the respectability politics, I reject being tone-policed, I think we need to do away with this idea that these structures are … that the prisons can undergo reform and somehow do less violence as a structure. But any example like that.
Wait, can you ask that question again, I got distracted real quick, there was a bird outside my window."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She added; "SQUIRREL!!"


Seriously, what the fuck was that? You would think she would have had a more coherent answer to the question of what her whole "revolution" was about before launching it. Or any answer really. You get the impression she just ran out of verbiage and bailed out after calling out "Look behind you!". Actually what she reminds me of most is Tina Fey's impression of Sarah Palin's doomed battle to the death with her own talking points. This sort of thing always happens when you only associate with people who agree with you.

TINA FEY DOES SARAH PALIN;


Some of Parks' supporters have cried fowl at this "ambush" and not editing out that last comical "Look a birdy" part. But I assume that Gupta promised Park a verbatim non-edited interview and that's what she got. Besides it doesn't change the fact that Park's answer up to that point was still a pile of empty gibberish and politically correct talking points in a hopeless search of a coherent answer. And don't even try the "she just needs some media training" line. First of all that's the usual fallback for right wing assholes who blurt out ignorant things about blacks, women, Muslims and gays. Secondly Suey Park is a well educated and articulate person who bills herself as a "writer and comedian", and who has been actively courting the media spot light for months so she has no excuse for coming off this narcissistic, smug and shallow. Except that she obviously is.

ANOTHER INTERVIEW GOES BADLY (YES I KNOW THE HOST IS BEING A SNOT, BUT SO IS SHE):


Note one of her more annoying traits, also learned from Identity Politics; the tendency to use the most convoluted rhetoric to avoid answering questions. Example; "I don't want to do the labour of answering this" When what she really means is "I shouldn't have my opinions challenged, especially by white guys". The use of excessive verbosity as a weapon to overwhelm questioners and confuse the audience and is always an effective trick to suggest that you are smarter than everyone else, and therefore obviously right and thus shut down the very possibility of debate. See Conrad Black.

Another thing that happens to activists (regardless of ideology) is a thoroughly obnoxious need to compare themselves to the earlier generation of real activists and revolutionaries who actually went out and sacrificed, in some cases everything, for the cause. To wit;
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I was asking you about if you want white people — because they’re still the majority — if you want them to be allies in your goal to end racism?
Well, one, they won’t be the majority for long. And two, I don’t want any ally who is going to use my emotional labor with no guarantee of aiding my liberation. And so I feel like this question that white America asks of us, “Why can’t you be reasonable to get us to work with you?” And I keep saying, being reasonable has never worked in history. All other big racial justice movements, all of the big historical figures in racial justice were never reasonable. They were always painted as crazy during their time, and even afterwards now."

Yes indeed. I understand Mandela did some of his best tweets from prison.

Which brings us to our grand finale;

"Would it be inflammatory to say that you think white men are sort of the enemy? Um. I mean I think they are, and we might as well label it. Whiteness will always be the enemy. It’s not like I want to hurt them, it’s not like I want them to have any pain, but like, I just want them to realize what they have, and to honor the advantages. And I don’t think it’s much to ask to just even acknowledge it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And there we have identity politics in a nutshell. It's us versus them period. It's the perfect ideology for the young (and therefore not used to nuance), educated (therefore fond of dense rhetoric), idealistic (therefore looking for a cause), serious (therefore humorless and judgmental) and disaffected (therefore looking for a group to identify with and others to reject). In fact much Park seems to genuinely believe she's inventing this maze of circular reasoning herself, there is actually not much there I haven't heard from University politics going back to the 1990's when was still called "Political Correctness".

Both Ryerson and the U of T student unions were (and are) hothouses for this sort of endless racialism. In fact the U of T's student union is right now literally planning to restructure it's union reps away from electing them on the basis of the various schools of study (engineering, fine arts, law etc) and instead allocating them on the basis of race and gender. Except for white males of course, they don't count because they are oppressors, or something like that. Mind you they still have to pay the student union dues so there's a lawsuit waiting to happen. The phrase "No taxation without representation" comes to mind. Then there's Ryerson and it's former radio station CKLN (where I once worked) which was shut down by the CRTC after it was torn apart by (among other things) nasty and endless identity politics infighting. It was common at staff meetings to have various people introduce themselves by saying "I'm so-and-so and I'm a black lesbian" or whatever, even if that had absolutely nothing to do with the subject at hand. It was also not unusual for white males to be told they were "oppressors". We were even occasionally told that we should not have speaking rights at all since "white males had oppressed society for too long". We should certainly not be on staff. And white people shouldn't be allowed to play black music (like the blues, swing, gospel or ska, all of which I play) since that's "cultural appropriation" even though most, if not all, activists know fuck all about music or musicians. They certainly don't respect them. Suey Park would have fit right in. When Ryerson tried to get the radio license back from the CRTC their proposal included guarantees that not only would employment equity be followed (no argument there, besides it's the law) but no white males would even be allowed on staff or on the air at all. But white male Ryerson students would still be expected to contribute their $10 fee to support the station. Presumably because they owed it for their centuries of oppression. I was at those hearings and the CRTC commissioners were not amused. More surprising was that the Radio Ryerson group seemed truly shocked that anyone would see any problems with this. Once again; When you only talk to people who agree with you, you are in for some nasty surprises when you meet the real world. They didn't get the license BTW.

What has always struck me about identity politics is that in spite of it's strident leftism it is actually deeply conservative. Other modern ideologies such as Marxism, Socialism, Anarchism, Green-Ecology and even Libertarianism (but not Fascism obviously) seek to break down barriers between and within societies such as race, nationalism, religion, language and gender. Identity Politics instead seeks to strengthen them, and then hunker down behind them. Regardless of whatever failures they may have, the other ideologies are essentially outward looking and optimistic, believing they can change and improve the world by breaking down barriers they regard as arbitrary or false. Identity Politics however is entirely inward and defensive, believing the world is an all encompassing threat to be shut out. Identity Politics is also an overwhelmingly middle class, university educated and suburban movement. It has little or nothing to say about issues of poverty and class other than to blame poverty on racism and to vaguely assume that once race is solved poverty will sort itself out. Rather like how trickle-down economics devotees assume the "magic of the market place" will fix everything once we have enough tax cuts. Identity Politics was fashionable in the 1990's but today it is somewhat archaic in a time where most on the left generally see the major issues as being those of poverty, income disparity, corruption of the political system plus the destruction of the environment. These issues cross all racial and gender lines. Identity is however the perfect ideology for the sheltered, privileged and self-absorbed. Like Suey Park. How much time does the working class spend worrying about an offensive joke or counting how many black, Asian, Hispanic or gay characters on on TV or counting how many lines they get? Very little in my experience. That's a luxury only someone with spare time and a certain amount of income security would have. And only such a person would be so isolated from the real lives of the "47%" to think that these are really the earth shattering issues that Park obviously believes they are. Park and other Identity Politics polemicists are fond of demanding that white males "check their privilege" or "acknowledge their advantages" while at the same time being utterly oblivious to the "privileges" they enjoy due to their solidly middle class or even upper class, university educated status. 23 year old Park actually still lives with her parents. I know Americans are especially reluctant to acknowledge that class even exists let alone deal with class issues but for a self appointed "revolutionary" to be this clueless is inexcusable.

In another one of the interviews she does via webcam she actually had to cut it short because "I hear my mother coming home." Seriously. It's like an SNL sketch about entitled PC "revolutionaries" plotting the overthrow of the state from their parents basement only to be told to take out the trash. I bet that happened to Fidel Castro all the time. You're just about to launch an attack on the regime when you get grounded. "But Ma; We were about to liberate the people! You never let me have any fun"!

Identity Politics does however arm it's adherents with an arsenal of labels that can be used to shut down any criticism or debate simply by invoking them, even against people who are basically in agreement. So when Jeff Yang had the temerity to question Park's campaign, then he was a sexist, because "Asian men [throw] women of color under the bus." If you are an Asian woman critic, like Juliet Shen then you are "a white feminist." If you are a white feminist, that really means "White (Supremacy) Feminism." And if you are a white male, you are the enemy and nothing more needs be said. (an aside; at one typically nasty argument at CKLN I was amazed to hear a black man dismissed as a "white man of colour". It's also worth noting that most of these identity politics types were white and Asian middle class university students, actual young black people thought they were patronizing jerks).

ALLIES AND AXIS

How self-absorbed is Suey Park? Elsewhere (not in the interview) Park has crowed with a presumably straight face that "my tweet" of #NotYourAsianSidekick was "the point of origin for Asian American feminism." Yep; Suey Park invented Asian-American feminism. Just like that. On Twitter no less. Whew; That was easy. Right now the ghosts of Susan B. Anthony, Nellie McClung, The Pankhurst Sisters, Betty Freidan, Gloria Steinham (I know the last two are not actually ghosts but fuck it) and generations of suffragettes are thinking; "Gee; If only we had Twitter".

How self-absorbed? How about rudely pushing aside the longstanding fight of a clearly marginalized group to push her own agenda of controversy farming. You know; the native people who this whole discussion was supposed to be about. Remember them? Suey Park certainly didn't.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Then there's the matter of how #CancelColbert "Drowned out the Native Voice," as Indian Country Today Media Network bluntly stated. Native American journalist Jacqueline Keeler criticized Park for shifting discussion away from the Redskins name, and for not promoting hashtags to protest racist sports team names. Keeler claims, "We kept Suey Park in the loop regarding our hashtag #Not4Sale, she was just not moved to act on it." Native activist Jennie Stockle, who works with Eradicating Offensive Native Mascotry, wrote: "... like a tornado, Suey Park's tweet calling to cancel Colbert Report came through and pushed all of our efforts into a storm shelter."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Park eventually responded with a single tweet; "The almighty @andrea366 has reminded me of an important point--can't ignore anti-Native racism--let's address issues simultaneously." Which she then proceeded to not address again. It was literally the least she could do. And note that she had to be repeatedly reminded to say even that. I note that in Canada it would have harder for her to get away with this simply because Natives are a much larger and more visible part of society. As a percentage they make up around ten percent of the population, slightly less as a ratio than to blacks in America. Whereas the percentage of Natives in America is less than one percent, and most of that is in rural areas of a few sparsely populated western states. For a urban dwelling, middle-class American university student like Suey Park it would not be a surprise if she has actually met very few native people outside the her sociality class. Natives are simply not part of her identity or experience and therefore she never gave them a second, or even a first thought. Park is fond of saying that the "three pillars of whiteness are slavery, genocide and orientalism". Notice that she leaves out any specific mention of the oppression of Native peoples, without which there would be no America at all. I suppose that she would say that she includes them in her "genocide" pillar but she obviously didn't think they were worth a specific mention whereas "orientalism", which concerns her directly, was. It shouldn't be a contest of who has suffered worse oppression (although identity politics inevitably turns into this) but if I have to chose between who has suffered more, Asians or Natives, I would not hesitate to say Natives.

How self-absorbed? How about nominating herself as the spokesperson of "18 Million" Asian Americans. I assume that Suey Park and Eunsong Kim are both Korean since Park and Kim are common Korean names. The only way they get claim leadership of "18 Million Asians" is if they, and we, assume all Asians are the same. The very assumption that Park would normally denounce as racist. But (and I can't believe I have to point this out) Koreans are not the only Asians in America, nor are they the most numerous or oldest settled group. All Asians do not have the same history either in Asia or America. Nor do they even particularly like each other. Hostilities between Chinese and Japanese, Japanese and Koreans, Chinese and Tibetans, Chinese and Vietnamese, Chinese and Mongols, Chinese and Uighurs, Vietnamese and Cambodians, Japanese and Philippinos, to name the most obvious, are deep and go back for centuries. As for their American experiences; most Koreans started to come to North America in the wake of the Korean War. Issues like the Chinese railroad workers or the head-taxes on Chinese and Japanese immigrants in the 1900's are not Korean issues. Nor did they suffer the Japanese internment of World War Two, the atrocities of the American occupation of the Philippines, the annexation of Hawaii or the discrimination and poverty faced by Vietnamese Boat People.

Additionally in another tweet which we'll examine more in a minute, Park also revealed that she was "A Christian". I assume she means Protestant since Catholics usually identify as such but it doesn't really matter. Now I realize there are a fair number of Asian Christians, especially Koreans, however most Asians are Buddists, there are also a fair number of Muslims (mostly from Indonesia, Malyasia and Philippines) and Catholics (From Philippines and Vietnam). Does she really get to speak for them simply because she says so? Does she even understand their viewpoints? Has she even given this a minutes thought? I seriously doubt it.

I'm not Asian but I don't see why Suey Park gets to appropriate other people's historical pain to promote herself and her crusade to purify television of Asian jokes she finds offensive. Especially since Suey Park has no problem siding with one of the more obnoxious racebaiters in the American media. And I realize there is a lot of competition for that title.




CROSSING OVER TO THE DARK SIDE

One might wonder how tweets sent out by a random person who is not otherwise famous for any reason can go viral while the random tweets sent out by regular losers (A.K.A. "The Rest Of Us") pass without the slightest notice. Simple, she had a lot of help.
Cue Michelle Malkin.

Malkin is yet another far right bloviater and a regular on Fox News. Yeah, I know; that doesn't exactly narrow things down. For those who are not regular Fox viewers; besides their lily white show hosts they keep a few non-white regular talking heads whenever they want to play the race card against those Evil Liberals. Malkin is their #AsianSidekick. Besides her regular appearances on Fox she is also published on a white supremacist website. Not surprisingly she is a doctrinaire right wing asshole who regularly attacks immigrants, minimizes torture at Guantanamo, (when she isn't actively praising it), is morbidly anti-gay, especially hateful towards Muslims, and frequently smears women who disagree with her based on their appearance. Her book on Japanese internment (she's in favour natch) was so flawed the Historians' Committee for Fairness denounced it as "a blatant violation of professional standards of objectivity and fairness." She's called Asian campaign donors to Hillary Clinton "limited-English-proficient and smellier than stinky tofu," and once dismissed campaigns against anti-Asian racism as "self-pitying and grievance-mongering." Malkin is so extreme that even some on Fox have called her out, although they keep having her back. Given Fox's core audience of angry white males you can she why they want her but why does Suey Park?

MICHELLE MALKIN IS "SICK & TIRED OF ASIAN GRIEVANCE MONGERS"


Because while Park's 23,000 Twitter followers are fairly impressive, Malkin has 693,000. She also has Twitchy; a right-wing social media site which she funded that collects and promotes chosen posts and reposts them in heavy volume to create "News". Oh; and she has easy access to Fox and Talk Radio to promote the "news" she helped start in the first place. She is therefore well placed to manufacture dissent on twitter.

Park; ostensibly a far left anti-racist activist and Malkin; a nasty far right demagogue were perfectly suited to each other's needs. Malkin (and others in the far right media) had been long looking for issues to pry non-white voters away from the Democratic Party by playing the race card. Thus we have the bizarre, (at least to non-rightwing assholes) spectacle of black commentators like Herman Cain, Alan West, Alan Keyes, Ben Carson and a handful of others hysterically comparing Obama to Hitler and the Democratic Party to the KKK and the S.S. in a notably unsuccessful attempt to win over black voters. Malkin has been particularly aggressive in pushing this agenda.

MICHELLE MALKIN RIGHT-SPLAINS IMMIGRATION TO GERALDO WHO CALLS HER AN EXTREMIST;


In January some lowly staffer at MSNBC posted a fairly idiotic and gratuitous tweet snidely mocking conservatives after some racist idiots complained about that cute Cherrios commercial with the bi-racial family. Malkin and Twitchy pounced sending out a blizzard of tweets blaming "liberal race card crap" and their "evil", "poisonous" and "libelous" racist agenda. For the record; the Cherrios ad did indeed provoke some jawdroppingly racist comments on social media, (which Malkin blithely ignored) but it was unfair and stupid to blame that on conservatives as a whole. After MSNBC quickly apologized, deleted the tweet and fired the staffer stating that the offending tweet had not been authorized, Malkin was typically gracious, refusing to accept the apology and sneering that MSNBC were "cowardly".

Park did not play any role in Malkin's campaign but she was clearly watching because soon thereafter she began retweeting Malkin's posts and when some of her left-wing followers challenged Park's promoting an openly racist/homophobic/Islamaphobic right wing bloviator, Park blandly stated in another tweet that she found Malkin "reasonable". When Park went after Colbert, a liberal hero much hated by the far right only slightly less than Jon Stewart and Bill Maher, Malkin, smelling blood in the water, could hardly contain her glee.

An article written by Arun Gupta entitled "Bitcoin Activism; How Michelle Malkin and Suey Park Found Common Cause In Hashtag Activism" exhaustively chronicled the resulting twitstorm;

"THE STORM
The supercells of Park and Malkin collided the night of Thursday, March 27, 2014, generating a perfect media storm. Park fired off at least three tweets in four minutes. The first was a "Fuck you" Colbert. The second was the infamous "The Ching-Chong Ding-Dong Foundation," which was retweeted a respectable 144 times, a mild breeze compared to a Twittersphere hurricane like Justin Bieber, whose feckless grunts are retweeted 100,000 times or more. In the third tweet, Park accused white liberals of being "just as complicit in making Asian Americans into punchlines." Presumably she meant as complicit as conservatives.
In the next two hours, Park rained directives, exhortations, jargon, and rebukes on her followers while skirmishing with others on the side. Park was Asian-America: "there are 19 million of us," "We are waiting for an apology and explanation," and "we aren't amused."
Park commanded, "White people--please keep #CancelColbert trending until there's an apology. This is NOT the burden of people of color. Fix it. Do something," ordered those who aren't "structurally subordinated [to] please shut up and help #CancelColbert," and sneered, "Still waiting for white allies to make themselves useful, but they probably enjoy the show too much." (She changed her opinion about the utility of white people the following week, telling Salon, "I don't want them on our side.")
Park later claimed #CancelColbert was a provocative way to expose liberal racism, but that night she chided, "White people ... I know y'all are used to having structural power, but losing one show isn't oppression #CancelColbert." Additionally, the headline for her and Eunsong Kim's article for Time magazine read, "We Want to #CancelColbert."
An hour into the campaign, at 8:52 p.m., Twitchy swung into action. In February, I felt the heat from a Twitchy-led mob, including a thinly veiled death threat, after sarcastically tweeting that Republicans were guilty of economic terrorism by threatening to cut aid to a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee if workers there unionized. But for #CancelColbert, Twitchy became as earnest as an Occupy Wall Street general assembly, curating Tweets about racist "othering," transphobia, fat shaming, cis privilege, bullying, and triggering. Garnering more than 1,200 mentions on Facebook and Twitter, the Twitchy post praised Park's persistence, framed the issue as one of liberal racism, and noted the campaign was going viral fast.
MALKIN IT FOR ALL IT'S WORTH
At 9:34 p.m. Park announced the first victory. The Colbert Report deleted the original offending tweet that had gone out at 6:02 p.m.: "I am willing to show #Asian community I care by introducing the Ching-Chong Ding-Dong Foundation for Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever."
Malkin piled on seven minutes later by tweeting, "Coward just deleted the tweet!" She also referred to the tweet from Twitchy the previous hour. By 9:44 p.m. the tweets were flying furiously. Park tweeted, "I'm sick of liberals hiding behind assumed 'progressiveness' #CancelColbert." Malkin retweeted it instantly, "Co-sign! RT @suey_park I'm sick of liberals hiding behind assumed 'progressiveness' #CancelColbert." Malkin was retweeted 152 times, nosing past the first Cancel Colbert tweet.
Also at 9:44 p.m. Malkin tweeted at Park, "@suey_park I know we don't agree on much, but you are TENACIOUS & I respect that greatly. Hats off to you. #cancelcolbert." Given their contact in January, the tweets suggest the two had been in communication. At minimum the two were now joined in battle against the specter of liberal racism. Park does not comment on Malkin, but she retweeted or favorited all three of her tweets.
Others alerted Park she was making common cause with someone who commits every political sin Park preaches against. At 9:48 p.m. on March 27, only four minutes after Malkin backed Park, noted anti-racist and feminist blogger Mia McKenzie, aka Black Girl Dangerous, expressed her displeasure, tweeting "@suey_park ew michelle malkin, though? ew." Park didn't respond, but she favorited this tweet soon after.
At 9:54 p.m., two hours after #CancelColbert was born, Malkin explained the goal was not to cancel Colbert, it was to "#ExposeColbert & it's working very effectively. Luv the smell of hypocrisy toast." Park favorited the tweet.
Cancel Colbert rapidly went stratospheric. At 10:33 p.m. Park tweeted, "Fun! We are the #1 trending hashtag in the US right now ... Keep it up! Park's mood understandably soured a few hours later as Twitter interactions hit 200 per minute, many of them oozing racist and sexist vitriol, including rape and death threats.
The next morning Twitchy published another post defending Park that made it seem as if she and Malkin were united on the issue. At no point did Park publicly distance herself from Malkin, reject her politics, or at least express concern that Malkin's vicious real-world racism might harm the campaign to address racism in the fictional world. Park's only comment the night of March 27 to Malkin was to declare, "I'm Christian, too," at 8:56 p.m.
While Malkin and Twitchy supported Park, Park concluded that Colbert fans were behind the torrent of abuse directed at her. Park tweeted that night to Colbert's personal account, "Dear @StephenAtHome--your years of satire have failed when your fans send rape/death threats to an asian woman for critiquing your work." From the Twitter feeds of abusers calling her "chink" and "rice nigger," nearly all look to be right-wing trolls.

MICHELLE MALKIN BLAMES OBAMA FOR RACISM BECAUSE OF...JAY-Z?


(Note that as a part of her resume Fox helpfully points out that she's "left-handed")

LEFT-RIGHT INTERSECTIONALITY By March 28, #CancelColbert burned through the media. Park's article in Time indicated that Cancel Colbert was the goal. But in an interview with The New Yorker the same day, Park sounded like Malkin, saying she didn't really want to cancel Colbert, despite the hashtag. Park said of Colbert's sketch, "That sort of racial humor just makes people who hide under the title of progressiveness more comfortable." Malkin completed the Freaky Friday switch, sounding like Park when she tweeted that afternoon, "For all you CLWM's [clueless white males] lecturing brown & yellow women about how we don't get the 'satire' ..."
Park obviously is not responsible for Malkin trying to co-opt her message. But given the number of times she retweets or favorites Malkin, and acknowledges criticism but is silent about it, this suggests she is keeping quiet about Malkin's politics so as to benefit from her support.
Three anti-racist feminists who have been in touch with Park say "she might be in over her head" in tangoing with Malkin. Juliet Shen, who calls Park a "former friend," says she was "shocked" to see Malkin and Park "were talking to each other, and in a way supporting each other." Another source says Malkin "doesn't support Park, she is just eager to use her to slam liberals."
Shen thinks Malkin is using Park to "change people's opinions about her, and in that way help loop Asian-Americans into right-wing politics." She suggests both Park and Malkin may be "using each other for an opportunity to get more visibility in communities neither of them had a lot of presence in."
Shen says, "It is confusing to see why Park wouldn't denounce Malkin of all people," especially when Park is quick to fling around insults such as "anti-blackness, racism, sexism, homophobia [against]other organizers in the Asian-American community." She says Park might be afraid "if she did publicly criticize Malkin, she has this huge following that could easily turn on Suey."
One source who asked Park about Malkin's support for Cancel Colbert claimed Park expressed her distaste for Malkin but then did not respond when asked if she would repudiate Malkin publicly.
Park's first comment about Malkin came on March 30. The previous day Jeff Yang slammed #CancelColbert and the limits of Twitter as a social justice tool in the Wall Street Journal. Park broke with Yang that evening, calling him "a gaslighting self-promoting patriarch." Shen wrote in a blog post that it's common practice among Park's followers to accuse others of gaslighting, that is, trying to deliberately twist someone's memory. At 3:42 a.m. Park tweeted at Yang, "@michellemalkin has been a better friend than you."

MICHELLE MALKIN DISPLAYS HER JOURNALISTIC SKILLS:


On April 1, Malkin threw down in support of Park, making no bones of her intention to use Park to sanitize right-wing racism.
"Question: Who are the most prominent, public purveyors of Asian stereotypes and ethnic language-mocking in America?
"The right answer is liberal Hollywood and Democrats.
"The wrong and slanderous answer is conservatives..."
After denigrating Colbert as an "illegal alien amnesty lobbyist," Malkin applauded Park for leading a group of "diehard liberals" to "tenaciously" question Colbert and his defenders as "race-baiting liberals who hid behind their self-professed progressiveness." Malkin also took the opportunity to bash Muslims and defend her internment book.
Finally on April 1 Park offered some ambiguous criticism, tweeting, "Michelle Malkin cosigning my work means my message sucks, but white supremacists threatening rape cosigning Angry Asian Man means...what?"




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By this last tweet she apparently means that if Colbert is not going to be held responsible for some of the vile racist tweets and comments sent her way then she should not be held responsible for Malkin's support. Which seems like like a fair point on the surface until you remember that;
a) Park clearly sought and encouraged the support of Malkin and the far right to attack Colbert and promote herself whereas Colbert at no point encouraged, even obliquely, anyone to attack Park in any way.
b) Both Park and Malkin specifically do hold Colbert responsible for even the most offensive threatening tweets, even after he specifically and publicly denounced them, which Park has never done with Malkin.



So Suey Park; self appointed leader of "18 Million Asians" is happy to team up with someone who's opinions about the very issues that a Anti-racist Asian leader should be aware of are beyond the pale. As stated Malkin is not only a defender of the Japanese Internment, she is currently hawking a book about it. The millions of Asian Muslims should appreciate that Malkin considers them to be a bunch of terrorists who should be deported. She is of course a defender of the Vietnam War and all the atrocities committed there, and I can safely assume ditto for the Philippines. I don't know that Malkin has ever said anything about the Chinese who worked on the railroads in often dangerous and sometimes fatal conditions for starvation wages. But given her typically Republican contempt for the working class I think we can predict what her opinions on that would be, regardless of race. As for the campaign by some Chinese and Japanese for restitution of the Head Tax charged in the early twentieth century; Malkin is naturally contemptuous of any talk of "reparations". In fact in the past Malkin has been quick to denounce any complaints of racism by Asians, like Park's, as "self-pitying and grievance-mongering." Until she realized that this same "grievance-mongering could be harnessed to attack an enemy and increase her own brand. And Park was just as cynical and opportunistic.

Park gives Malkin some hope (however illusory) of winning over Asians to the Republican Party (right now they vote overwhelmingly Democratic). All Malkin really has to offer Park's "revolution" is attention. Because apparently the medium is the message. No matter how corrupted that message becomes. Marshal McLuhan would have no doubt had some pithy things to say about this but then again Suey Park wouldn't have listened because he was another white guy.

Former friends and allies like Shen and Yang are convinced that Park doesn't actually agree with Malkin and knows she is being used to further a far right agenda but is prepared to go along in order to reach a bigger audience. So she's a cynical opportunist who believes the ends justify the means. That's real inspiring. But what in fact what is the end goal? Not only did Colbert not get cancelled, he got promoted. Are there about to be some news sitcoms and talk shows with Asian hosts I'm not aware of? I doubt it. The reason there are a number of black and gay characters on TV now than there were in the 1990's is not because Spike Lee protested the Oscars. It's because the networks and advertisers decided there was a big enough audience to cater to. Even on it's own stated goals Parks' campaign won't change television. As for the larger goal of a starting a "revolution"; well let's just say #CancelColbert is not exactly the storming of the Winter Palace.

SHORT CUT TO NOWHERE
The original anarchists of the Victorian era had a name for it; "Propaganda By Deed". The idea that a revolutionary elite could jumpstart the revolution merely by staging big public events like bombings and high profile assassinations thus removing the need of years of organizing and education. Such high profile publicity stunts would serve to inspire the masses to rise up. Such revolutionaries as Lenin, Trotsky and Rosa Luxembourg warned against this simplistic tactic but it had an obvious attraction for the impatient or marginalized. In the 1960's and 70's a new generation of far leftists like the Red Brigades, Red Army, Baader-Meinhoff, FLQ, PFLP, SLA, Animal Liberation Front, Tupamaros, Weathermen and in another way the Yippies and Rhino Party would try it again with similar lack of results. It is also the basic tactical philosophy that Al Quida uses. I am not suggesting in any way that Suey Park is a terrorist of course, that would be silly. I am pointing out that the idea of a easy bake revolution or large scale societal change through publicity stunts is not new. It's also never worked. Not even once.

Rosa Luxembourg said that the first job of the revolutionary was to "agitate, educate, organize". There were no short cuts. Mao, Ho Chi Mihn, Che and Castro said that the revolutionary should be out amongst the people, not preaching from an ivory tower, much less a twitter feed. Park has not only failed on both counts, she is not even interested in trying to do the grubby, time consuming and difficult work of rallying support for her cause, which if it is to combat racism, is laudable. Worse by relying on exclusionary slash-and-burn rhetoric, name calling, cherry picking outrage and a deeply troubling alliance with a vile demagogue she has burned any bridges she might have crossed and made enemies she did not need to have in exchange for her fifteen minutes of fame. She will not get another chance. She will no doubt still get to monitor the media for stuff to be offended about and sent out snide outraged tweets. Occasionally she may even get an apology. But I suspect people will tire of her hectoring act if they haven't already. People don't like puritan scolds even if they're funny, which for all her claims of being a comedian, Park is not. Spike Lee used to protest the Oscars until people started laughing at him, and then ignoring him. And he had actual talent and a real body of work to point to. Park has a twitter page and some sleazy new friends who will tire of her if she ever steps out of line.

If Suey Park gets to be called a "revolutionary" then right now the ghost of Che Guevera is smacking himself in the head and saying; "That does it; I want those t-shirts back". And yes I get that as a white male I am the enemy and my opinion doesn't matter so I just wasted a fair amount of time writing this.

Pages Turned And Stages Seen

This has been another hard spring for bookstores in Toronto. In April the iconic World's Biggest Bookstore closed after thirty four years while in the same month Book City on Bloor also closed. Before they had even shuttered their doors the giant flagship Indigo/Chapters on John st announced they would be closing up at the end of May. Another Chapters at Runnymede closed in February and yet another, albeit smaller store, NDJ on Younge south of Wellesley will be closing at the end of June.

LAST CALL AT WORLD'S BIGGEST BOOKSTORE

World's Biggest has always had a special place in my heart. I know it was garish and tacky but growing up in Scarborough it (along with various indie record stores and head shops) was one of the reasons I would trek all the way downtown, regardless of the weather, just to look at, and sometimes actually buy books.

World's Biggest was started up in 1980 by Jack Cole who owned the Cole's Books chain, then ubiquitous in Ontario shopping malls. It was like a mall store on steroids, big, ugly, tacky, with constant sales. Purists sniffed that it was like if Honest Ed opened a book store. Read the rave reviews;

“A short, brassy dropout.”
“A crass money-maker.”
“Schlockmeister.”
"A sharp merchandiser whose only interest is to make the largest profit possible for himself.” (that one from Pierre Berton)

(hey; I have that Naval Warfare book)

It may well be true Cole was only following the lead of Sam The Record man who similarly used the "everything but the kitchen sink" approach of "volume, volume, volume" to sell culture to folks who might have been put off by the traditional small cluttered bookstores scattered about. Assuming they could find one. Berton himself would have to admit he sold a lot of books there. And what is the point of writing them if you can't sell them? Canadian book publisher Mel Hurtig certainly saw that.

"Source: the Toronto Sun, November 4, 1980.
Inhabiting the former home of the Olympia bowling alley on Edward Street (the last set of lanes downtown until The Ballroom opens next month), Cole proceeded to create a seventy-thousand-square-foot bookstore which contained seventeen miles of shelving to house a million books divided among one hundred thousand titles. The store would be bathed in bright colours and contain enough lighting that, Cole hoped, it would never be necessary to turn on the heat (a situation already in effect at the Yonge and Charles Coles). An electronic map was installed, inspired by one Cole had seen in the Paris Métro, employing an array of lights to point customers toward the section they were looking for. Rather than label the store as just another Coles, the company bestowed upon it a modest name: World’s Biggest Bookstore. Whether it really was that was debated in various ways—even Cole admitted it probably wasn’t the record setter, but he figured it was at least in the top five in the world in terms of selection. When the doors opened on November 5, 1980, the first thousand customers were given silver dollars courtesy of Hurtig Publishers. Four days of festivities followed, which included numerous giveaways and entertainment ranging from clowns to a jazz band. Globe and Mail writer William French suspected that “during lulls in the din, the ghostly echo of crashing 10-pins and the muted curses of pool hustlers could distinctly be heard as the building’s previous tenants protested the invasion of culture.” French also noted that “outside, the store is trendily done in the Toronto architecture style known as Honest Ed’s; inside, the influence is more Dominion store,” and that the lighting was bright enough “to permit a surgeon to perform a cornea transplant right in the aisle, if he weren’t too distracted by the rippling red neon and flashing white bulbs that frame some of the display stands.” Despite his reservations, which included a sense that book lovers who preferred quieter, more atmospheric independent stores would feel that World’s Biggest lacked “a certain element of breeding and class,” French was impressed with the range of titles and the organization of the store.

As customers poured into World’s Biggest Bookstore on opening day, nearby Coles locations resembled ghost towns. While lunchtime saw lineups ten deep at the half-dozen cash registers at the new store, The Star found just four customers at the branch on the southeast corner of Yonge and Dundas. The staff didn’t mind the quiet—as the assistant manager admitted, “It certainly gives us a chance to collect our wits.” Coles management planned to convert Yonge-Dundas into a specialty shop for business, technical, and academic books, while a branch in the Eaton Centre would continue to serve shoppers who never left the shopping center."



Books were my first love as a kid, even before music, and I would cheerfully spend literally hours at bookstore buried in a book. Still can actually. World's Biggest was so big in fact that it was actually quite easy to find some out of the way place to sit down and read without calling attention to ones self or ever once being kicked out for doing so, unlike some other stores I can think of. Some might say that the purpose of a store is after all to sell stuff not lend it out and so chasing out nerdy kids who have no obvious cash is only sensible. But books aren't like clothes, tools or appliances, they aren't essential in any practical sense. But once you have cultivated a love of reading those kids will always come back to buy once they get some actual money to spend. I did. And books are like potato chips, you can't stop at just one. People will eventually grow up and stop going to clubs and buy music. They will stop going to sports. They will stop keeping up with fashion. They will get married and not have the time, energy and spare cash to do so. But they never grow out of books. I haven't.

Technology however has been a challenge;

(from the same article);
"When asked, shortly before World’s Biggest opened, about the future of bookselling, Cole sounded optimistic. He bragged that his low-cost, highly commercialized approach to selling had helped publishers and played a part in creating an audience that supported a far larger number of independents than when he entered the business in the 1930s. Predictions during the 1950s that television would kill books never came to pass. Visions of a “wired city” world where computers ruled didn’t faze him: “Books will provide the basis of information to be programmed.”



Cole couldn't foresee the extent of downloading, or online buying. However the real deciding factor in so many bookstore closings has been the rising costs of rents in Toronto. World's Biggest has been bought by a developer who intends to change it into a restaurant. I am truly going to miss this place and so is my fifteen year old self.



On the other hand least this is one piece of Younge street that Ryerson didn't get it's Borg-like claws on.

Rising rents were also cited as the reason Indigo/Chapters is closing it's giant flagship store opened with much fanfare in 1999.

(from CTV.ca);
“After lengthy negotiations, we have made the difficult decision not to renew our lease for Chapters Festival Hall,” Janet Eger, vice-president of public affairs at Indigo, said in a emailed statement.Egar said the company is “actively looking for new real estate options in Oakville, downtown Toronto and Bloor West Village” that will better suit its needs.
She also said Indigo will help its employees through the transition process. It’s not yet known what will be built at the location.
The Chapters store, which opened on July 15, 1999, is located beneath the Scotiabank Theatre in the city’s downtown’s core near the busy Queen Street West and across from the iconic MuchMusic building, now owned by CTV."

This store was almost as big as World's Biggest but more upscale with comfy chairs and a Starbucks (of course). By contrast World's Biggest once had signs bragging they had "No comfy chairs", which has to be first in marketing. I could usually find an out-of-the-way (if hard) spot on a rarely used staircase in the extreme north-east corner to read in peace. World's Biggest also had varied selection with lots of history books as well as music, film art and a good kid's section. True if you wanted something rare and exotic you would have to look elsewhere, but who can afford that when you're fifteen? World's Biggest had stuff you could actually afford.

Chapters was airier and carpeted but had less actual books. I can't imagine it having the same memories as World's Biggest, and not just because it wasn't around for as long. Still I while I rarely went a special trip down there I did enjoy camping out there in a comfy chair with a pile of books more than once.



Book City on Bloor also went back to the 1980's and had a coterie of loyal followers (including many past employees) who posted fond farewells. Unlike World's Biggest it never had detractors. It was a cosy two story indie store with a good selection and knowledgeable staff, unlike World's Biggest and Indigo who often hired students who weren't necessarily bookworms. However the farewells were somewhat sated when it was announced that Book City will be reopening at another locale, so that's good.

At the other end of the spectrum NDJ on Young was another one of those tiny independent used bookstores that used to dot Young, Bloor and Queen streets. I'm not sure how long it had been there, years definitely. It was cluttered, disorganized, dusty and sometimes overpriced and may not be a huge loss but I often stopped in there over the years and stumbled onto some cool finds.

Speaking of disappearing landmarks; another big, gaudy eyesore I spent way too much of my youth in will be closing at the end of the year.



The Guverment/Kool Haus was a huge warehouse turned night club down by the docks that was an important live venue throughout the 1980's (when it was called The RPM Club) and 1990's. I saw a lot of bands there over the years including;

BAUHAUS ~ "STIGMA MARTYR";


Bauhaus, The Ramones, The Gun Club & The Lawn, Killing Joke, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Skinny Puppy & Severed Heads, Iggy Pop, The Sex Pistols, Wire, Rancid, Bad Religion, Motorhead, Motley Crue, Screaming Blue Messiahs, The Fleshtones, Jack Grishom (of TSOL) & The Joykiller, Bouncing Souls, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Nick Cave, The Butthole Surfers, Anthrax, Fishbone, Sturm Group, Breeding Ground, Nina Hagen, Sick Of It All, H20, The L.A. Guns, Life Of Agony, Circus Of Power, Speedball, The Dik Van Dykes, The Blue Hawaiians, The Bolshoi, Groovy Religion, and Type O Negative (who sucked BTW) plus more I can't recall right now or didn't save ticket stubs from. I also was supposed to see The Virgin Prunes but they broke up before they got there, and Offspring but I had to work that night for a CKLN benefit as I recall.

KILLING JOKE ~ "EIGHTIES";


It was a bitch to get to since you had to basically walk down from King street under the Gardiner Expressway which could be quite a trek in the snow or rain. Especially if you were not exactly sober. It was also a pretty barren place at the time since the giant Lablaws next door did not get built until sometime in the 2000's.

The place was too cavernous to really have good sound, although Bauhuas managed to sound great. The ceiling was so high that they were able to hang dioramas from it including at one point a recreation of the Kennedy assassination complete with an actual vintage convertible car.

THE GUN CLUB ~ "JACK ON FIRE";


A few random memories;

The notorious Jesus And Mary Chain "riot" in which somebody threw a bottle at a drunken Jim Ried who responded by clocking the guy upside the head with a mic stand making a satisfying clunk which I could hear from well back. We emerged to find a dozen cop cars to deal with the resulting ruckus. Reid and the bottle thrower were both charged and the whole silly mess ended up with a judge ordering the two tipsy twits to apologize to each other. That is so Canadian.

THE JESUS & MARY CHAIN ~ "NEVER UNDERSTAND";




Dee Dee Ramone dealing with a fan who was spitting on him by merely stopping and pointing so the Ramone's large roadies could drag the punter out.

Interviewing Fishbone and trying and failing to make any sense out of them.

Interviewing the singer of Life Of Agony who wasn't much better.

Jack Grishom (of TSOL) giving the crowd a lecture on how to properly stage dive then demonstrating only to have the crowd back away so he landed on the cold hard pavement with a loud splat. Then he got right back up and finished the show. Although he did say the crowd were pussies. Fortunately I had already done a great interview with him earlier.

TSOL ~ "DARKER MY LOVE" & "WASH AWAY";


Seeing some long forgotten shock-rock glam band from Florida called The Impotent Sea Snakes who had a clown on stilts juggling flaming dildos while a midget barbequed hot dogs at the side of the stage. They also had strippers and fireworks. I think there may have been a few songs as well.

The Fleshtones taking to the stage by dancing through the audience tossing packs of Lucky Strikes to the crowd. And later leaving the same way, carrying their instruments.

THE FLESHTONES ~ "SHADOW LINE";


The singer of Sturm Group mooning the audience.

Nina Hagen with her squirt-gun bra.

Meeting Wire and getting them to sign my import 12 inch which was so limited edition they didn't even have a copy.

WIRE ~ "HEARTBEAT";


The Severed Heads with their giant video screens and elaborate industrial projections.

THE SEVERED HEADS ~ "DEAD EYES OPENED";


The Butthole Surfers with enough screens, lights, smoke, fire, strippers and noise to cause acid flashbacks in people who never take acid.

Skinny Puppy opening the show by staging a hanging of the singer and thinking to myself "I wonder what they do for an encore?"

Finding out it included the spraying of various unidentifiable fluids.

SKINNY PUPPY ~ "ASSIMILATE";


Thinking; "You know what? Motorhead really are too fucking loud".

Thinking; "Boy; Type O Negative are really boring".

I have to admit I haven't been there for several years since it was being used as a dance and rave club rather then a live venue but RPM was a valuable venue for a while. It's place as a mid size live venue has been filled by The Opera House and as well as the equally venerable Phoenix.

No word yet on what will become of the site but everyone assumes it will be waterfront condos.

STURM GROUP ~ "TO THE BALTIC";

Nash The Slash & FM (And The Dishes)

Nash The Slash; All good punks know that prog-rock sucked, and was in fact one of the reasons why punk happened. However in Toronto at least there was one exception, Nash The Slash and FM. They were an artsy prog-rock band with influences from the reasonably cool side of prog (like King Crimson) who were considered acceptable by most punks. This was partly due to Nash's "Mummy wearing a tuxedo" persona (although he did not start out that way) but also due to FM's reasonably non-pretentious air and their willingness to be part of the scene at all. Unlike the British Progs who ran screaming from punk. Nash (whose real name was Jeff Plewman)was even supposed to play the legendary "Last Pogo" concert which was recorded and filmed, he is even listed on the concert listings. Unfortunately he injured his hand and could not play. It helped that FM was formed in 1976, concurrent with punk, and like the punks had to struggle to find places to play at all in Toronto's (and Canada's) live and radio scene at the time which was focused on tired cover bands. FM recorded one album, "Black Noise" and scored an appearance on TVO (an Ontario version of PBS best known for children's programing like "The Polka-Dot Door" and revivals of classic B&W movies) before breaking up and sending Nash off to an eccentric solo career in which he would play literally every instrument, even on stage. He recorded several solo albums with moderate success in Canada and Britain where he was cited as an influence by Gary Numan and John Foxx's Ultravox. These alternated with FM reunions and shows in which he played soundtracks to silent horror films like "Nosferatu". Off stage he was a nice polite balding middle aged guy with glasses. One of the first shows I went to was actually an FM show at the Copa Klub, which is now long gone.

FM ~ "PHASORS ON STUN" (ON TVO 1976);


FM ~ "BLACK NOISE"


Another not-quite-punk-but-still-kinda-punk band of the late 1970's Toronto scene was The Dishes. One of the first bands on the Toronto scene, the Dishes were definitely of the early Roxy Music art school genre (also openly gay) that many these days don't consider punk at all but at the time they were an important part of the scene, for a lot of the same reasons as FM; lack of places to play, lack of record company support, lack of radio airplay, media hostility and willingness to support other such bands. They recorded an album, played a lot of gigs, managed to appear on TVO and then broke up and missed playing the iconic Last Pogo. After they broke up drummer Steven Davey formed another band called the Everglades in which he sang. They actually did play the Last Pogo and appear on the long out of print album, but not the movie. Then they broke up too and he went on to be a music writer for the Toronto Star. Later he moved on to Food Critic for Now Magazine he died suddenly this past week.

THE DISHES ~ "TWILIGHT ZONE";


THE DISHES ~ "MONOPOLIES ARE MADE AT NIGHT";

The Everly Bros & Some Other Early Rockers Pass On

Phil Everly died January 3 2014 at age 74. One half of the 1950's Everly Brothers duowith his brother Don who had iconic hits like "Cathy's Clown", "When Will I Be Loved", "Wake Up Little Suzi", "All I Have To Do Is Dream". They had massive hits on both side of the Atlantic and were cited as influences by the like of The Beatles (who they also toured with), Byrds, Hollies, The Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkle and Linda Ronstadt and later Rockpile (who both covered "When Will I Be Loved") for their harmony singing. Although they were too clean cut to be really be cool sex symbols.

THE EVERLY BROTHERS ~ "ALL I HAVE TO DO IS DREAM" & "CATHY'S CLOWN";


Originally from Kentucky the Everly's actually came from a long tradition of Singing Brother Duos which included the Stanley Brothers, Louvin Brothers, Lilly Brothers, Delmore Brothers and The Monroe Brothers with relatively little R&B or Gospel influences and it's likely that they would have sounded pretty much the same even if Rock & Roll never happened.

THE EVERLY BROTHERS ~ "WAKE UP LITTLE SUZI";


In spite of their clean cut image the boys lived the rock and roll lifestyle. Like Elvis they spent a brief spell in the Army and then got hooked on speed. Don had at least one nervous breakdown. Divorces and fist fights followed until they effectively broke up in the 1970's. After middling solo careers they reformed but behind the scenes the brothers were not on speaking terms. I know someone who booked them in the 1980's and he told the story of working with them. They arrived in separate planes, stayed in separate hotels, they took separate taxis to the venue, skipped a sound-check, entered the stage from opposite sides and after the show they left that way. At no point did they actually speak to each other. They aren't the only duo who acted that way, Sam & Dave and Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee did the same. Still they weren't actual brothers. That must have led to some awkward Christmases. Anyway they did apparently reconcile for good when they were invited on tour with Simon & Garfunkle in the 1990's.

THE EVERLY BROTHERS ~ "BYE BYE LOVE";


THE EVERLY BROTHERS ~ "WHEN WILL I BE LOVED"


Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith; Western Swing/Hinky Tonk guitarist from the 1940's, 50's & 60's. Did the original "Guitar Boogie" (which has been covered numerous times as well as having the riff reused even more) and "Dueling Banjos" ~ 93

ARTHUR "GUITAR BOOGIE" SMITH ~ "GUITAR BOOGIE";


ARTHUR "GUITAR BOOGIE SMITH" ~ "CHICKEN STRUT";


George Shuffler; Guitarist with Country/Bluegrass duos Stanley Bros, Bailey Bros ~ 88

THE STANLEY BROS ~ "WORRIED MAN BLUES";


THE STANLEY BROS ~ "HOW MOUNTAIN GIRLS CAN LOVE";


King Fleming ~ Jazz/R&B pianist and band leader from the 1940's, 50's & 60's. Played with Wynonie Harris on Apollo, Johnny Alston and His Orchestra, Oliver "King" Perry's Pied Pipers ~ 91

WYNONIE HARRIS ~ "ROCK MISTER BLUES";


WYNONIE HARRIS ~ "PUT IT BACK";


JOHNNY ALSTON ORCH ~ "RED LIGHT";


Freddie "Fingers" Lee; British guitarist who played on 1960's recordings by Gene Vincent, Screaming Lord Sutch and Marty Wilde ~ 76

GENE VINCENT & THE BLUECAPS ~ "BLUE JEAN BABY" & "SEXY WAYS";


GENE VINCENT & THE BLUECAPS ~ "RIP IT UP";


SCREAMING LORD SUTCH & THE SAVAGES ~ "JENNY JENNY" & "TRAIN KEPT A ROLLIN";


SCREAMING LORD SUTCH & THE SAVAGES ~ "JACK THE RIPPER";


Ceer Veerman; Singer Guitarist with 1960's & 70's Dutch Psyche-Pop band The Cats and The Mystic Four ~ 70

THE CATS ~ "LET'S DANCE";


Gary Burger; Singer with 1960's American/German Garage Band The Monks 72;

THE MONKS ~ "MONK CHANT";


THE MONKS ~ "OH HOW TO DO NOW";


Jerry Corbitt ~ Guitarist with 1960's Folk Rock band The Youngbloods ("Come Together")

THE YOUNGBLOODS ~ "GET TOGETHER" & "SUNLIGHT";


Paul Goddard ~ Bassist w/1970's Southern Rock Band The Atlanta Rhythm Section ("Spooky", "So Into You") ~ 68

THE ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION ~ "Spooky";


Roy Campbell Jr. ~ Free Jazz trumpet player, solo and played with Don Cherry,Yo La Tengo, William Parker, Peter Brotzmann, Matthew Shipp ~ 61

PETER BROTZMAN QUARTET;

A Couple Of Canadian Music Scene Figures Pass On

Richard Carstens ~ Singer/Guitarist with 1980's & 90's Indie Bands Madhouse, Wammee and Granny as well as solo ~ 54

THE WAMMEE ~ "WALKIN SIDE WAYS";


MADHOUSE ~ "MISERY";


Doug Queen ~ Accordionist with Country Rock Band Jughead, best known for "The Hockey Song" ~ 49
JUGHEAD ~ "THE HOCKEY SONG";




Dave Gregg ~ Guitarist with Canadian Punk band D.O.A. ~ 54

DOA ~ "WORLD WAR 3";


DOA ~ "THE PRISONER";

Pete Seeger ~ RIP

When Pete Seeger died recently at age 94 it obviously came as no surprise, he was 94 after all. The tributes were lengthy and well deserved, Pete Seeger was one of the truly towering figures of 20th century music.

On purely musical terms he was not especially note-worthy. His rather weedy voice and rudimentary guitar and banjo playing were not what made him important, it was his tireless work as a folklorist, civil rights leader and activist.

Born in Manhattan in 1919 of a middle-class family, his parents Charles and Constance were respected composers, musicologists and educators. Charles was also a pacifist who lost his job at University of California Berkley for his opposition to World War One, Pete's uncle Alan Seeger, a noted poet, died in that war. During the Roosevelt administration Charles got a job as an ethno-musicologist (a new discipline he helped pioneer) with the WPA as would John and Alan Lomax. Charles and Constance would divorce in 1932 and Charles would marry Ruth Crawford, a respected composer, and they would have four children, all of whom would become folk singers in their own lights.

THE WEAVERS


In spite of this background young Pete did not immediately take to music as a career, although he did learn how to play guitar, banjo, ukulele, and harmonica, he instead trained as a journalist and painter. By 1938 however he had dropped out of college as he was spending too much time on political activities. He had become a supporter of left-wing causes; civil-rights, anti-war, pro-union, anti-facist, anti-racist and a supporter of the loyalists in the Spanish Civil War. He had also become a friend to left-wing folk singers like Woody Guthrie, Cisco Huston, Josh White, Harry McClintock and Leadbelly. Throughout the 1930's and 40's Seeger would play many rallies and benefits for various causes and in 1936 he joined the Communist Party. He would leave the party in the aftermath of World War Two (during which he enlisted in the Navy and spent the war entertaining the troops) differing over the party's slavish devotion to Stalin. In spite of this falling out, during the 1950's McCarthy Red Scare Seeger would steadfastly refuse to denounce his old comrades when called up to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1955. His refusal to answer HUAC's questions earned him ten one year jail sentences for contempt of congress. After a long court battle this sentence was overturned on appeal in 1962, during this time his movements were greatly restricted and his passport was revoked. Worse he found himself largely banned from the radio and TV and had many shows cancelled.

PETE SEEGER W/ SONNY TERRY & BROWNIE McGEE ~ "ROCK ISLAND LINE";


By this time he had become a well known musical figure. He formed the Almanac Singers in 1941 with Lee Hays and Millard Lampell and a revolving cast that would include the likes of Woody Guthrie, Cisco Houston and Josh White. By 1950 the Almanacs had evolved into The Weavers including Seeger, Hays, Ronnie Gilbert and Fred Hellerman. The Weavers would become the first successful folk group scoring several major hits with songs like "Goodnight Irene" (a cover of a Leadbelly song), "So Long It's Been Good To Know You" (by Guthrie), "Sixteen Tons" (by Merle Travis), "On Top Of Old Smokey", "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine", "Turn, Turn, Turn" (later covered by The Byrds), "Kumbaya" and "Wimoweh (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)", a cover of a South African song by Solomon Linda later redone as a doo-wop song by The Tokens. Their "Live At Carnegie Hall" album was one of the biggest sellers of the 1950's. However the bans and blacklists as a result of HUAC effectively made it impossible to continue and Seeger left the group. The Weavers would struggle on for some time with various replacements but their place on the charts would be taken by the non-controversial Kingston Trio.

PETE SEEGER'S "RAINBOW QUEST" TV SHOW ~ GUESTS ROSCOE HOLCOMB & JEAN RICHIE:


In the late 1950's and early sixties the blacklisted Seeger made ends meet as a music teacher and writing a column for for "Sing Out!" magazine. But his lifeline came when Folkways Records signed him to a contract by which would record as many as five albums a year. Even with no radio airplay he would play the college and coffee house circuit as the early 60's folk revival led to a revival. Seeger would play a prominent role in the 60's folk scene and would champion such younger singers as Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, Peter, Paul & Mary and Ramblin Jack Elliot as well as lesser known figures like The Hillmen (featuring future Byrd Chris Hillmen) and The Town Criers with future Jefferson Airplane founder Marty Balin. Equally important were older singers now being rediscovered such as Mississippi John Hurt, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee, Skip James, Merle Travis, Roscoe Holcombe, Reverend Gary Davis, Cousin Emmy, Doc Watson and The Stanley Brothers.

PETE SEEGER'S "RAINBOW QUEST" TV SHOW WITH JOHNNY & JUNE CARTER CASH:


To promote folk music he started a new magazine, "Broadside" and hosted a syndicated TV show called "Rainbow Quest" which had most of the above singers as guests as well as younger singers like Johnny and June Cash, Donovan, Buffy St Marie, Tom Paxton and Judy Collins. Many of these shows are now available on DVD. He had earlier made a short documentary with Alan Lomax in 1947 which included Woody Guthrie, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee and Texas Gladden.

HEAR YOUR BANJO PLAY ~ 1947;


Pete Seeger never gave up his commitment to civil rights and the anti-war movement. He would continue to play rallies and protest marches, sometimes getting arrested well into his 80's. He would popularize the old black hymn "We Shall Overcome" as a civil rights anthem. In 1967 he was famously banned from TV for playing the anti-war song "Waist Deep In Big Muddy" on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Comedy Hour". After wide protest the network allowed him back on the show a year later. By the 1980's he would add the environment, anti-apartheid and farm-relief to his causes and he in fact played a Farm Aid benefit just a few months before his death joined onstage by Neil Young and Willie Nelson. Earlier in the year he had played at Occupy Wall street rallies. By that time he had recorded at least fifty albums both solo and with The Weavers.

PETE SEEGER'S "RAINBOW" QUEST TV SHOW WITH DONOVON AND RAVI SHANKAR:

Prof. Kitzel's Time Machine Record Label Profile; Paramount Records

CHARLIE PATTON ~ "SHAKE IT & BREAK IT";


Paramount Records was the premiere label for blues, jazz and country music during the Roaring Twenties, helping to create the mass market for blues and country and recording some of the biggest names of the era.



Jellyroll Morton ~ "SIDEWALK BLUES";


Early Years ~ 1916 ~ 1922~ Paramount was founded in 1916, growing out of the Wisconsin Chair Company ,which was itself founded in 1888 in Port Washington, Wis. , making both phonograph players as well as records. Paramount's early recordings were light classical pieces, sentimental ballads and patriotic anthems of the day. Most of these records were a financial flop and by 1922 the label was deep in debt and desperate.

MA RAINEY (WITH LOUIS ARMSTRONG) ~ "SEE SEE RIDER BLUES";


Urban Blues & Jazz on Paramount ~ In 1922 Paramount looking to turn around their flagging fortunes hired Englishman Art Satherly who began recording urban Vaudeville Blues singers such as Ma Rainey, Trixie Smith, Alberta Hunter, Hattie McDaniels & Moanin' Bernice Edwards as well as Hot Jazzmen as JellyRoll Morton, Clarence Williams, Johnny Dodds and Jimmy Noone, Jabo Williams, along with Boogie-Woogie pianists Roosevelt Sykes, Jimmy Blythe, Meade Lux Lewis, Charlie Spand and the white pianist Kansas City Frank Melrose. Satherly boosted Paramount's roster of black artists by hiring Mayo Johnson, an ambitious and well connected talent scout who would later go on to found rival Black Patti Records Paramount also arranged a licensing deal with the failing Black Swan label which included important and big sellers as Ethel Waters & Fletcher Henderson. When Black Swan folded in 1924 Paramount bought out their catalog.

TRIXIE SMITH ~ "JACK I'M MELLOW";


Rural Blues on Paramount ~ As important as the urban recordings were in keeping the label afloat their biggest (and musically most important) recordings were it's rural blues catalogue. Mostly scouted and discovered by Mayo Williams, a black former executive from Black Swan, Paramount became the first label to score a hit with a rural blues artist starting with Papa Charlie Jackson and quickly growing to include most of the major names of the era including Blind Blake, Pappa Charley Jackson, Charley Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Son House, Skip James, Ramblin' Thomas, Gus Cannon, Frank Stokes, Big Bill Broonzy, Tommy Johnson, William Moore, Bo Weavil Jackson, Bumble Bee Jackson, Henry Townsend, Freddy Spruell (who recorded the first version of "Milkcow Blues"), James Wiggins (who did the first version of "Keep a' knockin") and Bo Carter & the Mississippi Sheiks. The young Tampa Red and Josh White got their starts on Paramount. Soon the rural market was so important to Paramount that they started the "Broadway" budget label to introduce new acts.

PAPA CHARLIE JACKSON ~ "YOU PUT IT, I'LL TAKE IT OUT";


Old Time Country on Paramount ~ Although known mostly for their "race" records Paramount also recorded a large number of Old time Country artists starting with among the earliest OTM recordings through the budget "Broadway" label in 1922 and later including Wilmer Watts, Charlie Poole (briefly), Arthur Tanner (brother of famed fiddler Gid Tanner), Earl Johnson, Fiddlin' Doc Roberts, Emry Arthur, Davey Miller (AKA The Blind Soldier), Welling & McGhee, The Blue Ridge Highballers and George Washington White.

WILMER WATTS & THE LONELY EAGLES ~ "BEEN ON THE JOB TOO LONG";


Spirituals on Paramount ~ An important part of Paramount's "Race" catalogue were a number of Spirituals and Sermons with The Norfolk Jubilee Quartet and The Rev J.M. Gates being big sellers. Other frequent artists included The Jubilee Gospel Team, Rev. Beaumont, Blind Willie Davis, Blind Connie Rosemond and Rev. Johnny Blakey AKA The Son Of Thunder. Some of the blues artists also recorded spirituals including Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charley Patton and Skip James, albeit under assumed names since many religious people would not buy records from "sinful" blues singers. Some of the white Old Time Country artists also recorded Gospel songs, however unlike the Blues artists the OTM artists recorded under their usual names. Notable OTM-Gospel artists included Sid Harkreader, Joe Reed, Welling and McGhee and The Kentucky Thoroughbreds. Classical baritone Carroll Clark also recorded classic spirituals in a staid, dignified style similar to that of Paul Robeson.

REV. J.M. GATES ~ "DEATH'S BLACK TRAIN IS COMING":


Concert Singing on Paramount ~ Besides the Jazz, Blues, OTM and Gospel which is most treasured by collectors today Paramount also continued to record what was then referred to as "Concert Music" which meant traditional songs such as Stephen Foster songs, Spirituals and light classical ballads and lullabies sung in a stately, restrained carefully enunciated style. Several black artists continued in this style well into the Jazz Age, many had originally recorded for Black Swan and were kept on by Paramount. Best known examples would include Carroll Clark, Florance Cole-Talbert and The Harmony Kings. While these records did not sell as well as the Jazz, Blues and Gospel records they evidently sold well enough to keep them in print for the duration of the label's life.

CARROLL CLARK ~ "OLD DOG TRAY";


Cajun Music on Paramount ~ Paramount also recorded a few early Cajun artists as part of their OTM catalog including Leo Soileau & Robin Moise, John Bertrand & Milton Pitre and Roy Gonzales.

SOILEAU & ROBIN ~ "EASY RIDER BLUES";


The decline and fall of Paramount ~ Like all labels that relied on black or poor white listeners Paramount was hit hard by the Great Depression of the 1930's although the label was already struggling by then. Paramount was hit by the defections of Mayo Williams in 1927 to found his own "Black Patti Records", and Art Satherly in 1928 to start his own "QRS Label". In 1929 Paramount lost it's biggest distributor in Artophone to bankruptcy with others following as the depression deepened. The label was also rocked by the deaths of their biggest seller Blind Lemon Jefferson in 1929 as well as Jimmy Blythe and Charlie Poole in 1931. Paramount cut back on it's staff and recording until shutting down all new recordings and advertising at the end of 1932 although they continued to run an office until 1935. The inactive label was bought out in 1942 and run as a reissue label until much of it's catalog entered the public domain in the 1970's.

BLIND LEMON JEFFERSON ~ "MATCHBOX BLUES";


The aftermath ~ Many of Paramount's artists fell on hard times during the depression with most of the rural artists being forced into retirement. Many important ones did not survive the depression and war years including Blind Blake who died in 1933, Charlie Patton in 1934, Papa Charlie Jackson & Ma Rainey in 1938, Johnny Dodds in 1940, Kansas City Frank Melrose (murdered) & Jelly Roll Morton in 1941, Trixie Smith (car crash) and Wilmer Watts in 1943 and Jimmy Noone in 1944, and Rev. J.M. Gates in 1945. Carroll Clark appears to have died during this time. However a few did maintain careers into the R&R era such as Roosevelt Sykes, Tampa Red, Josh White, Fletcher Henderson and Ida Cox. A few survivors saw their careers revive with the folk boom of the 1960's including Son House, Skip James, Alberta Hunter and Henry Townsend who kept performing until his death in Dec. 2006.

SKIP JAMES ~ "CROW JAMES";


Today ~ The Paramount catalog is widely available on a number of re-releases, comps and box sets and the original 78's are highly collectible. The building which housed The Wisconsin Chair company and Paramount Records was demolished in 1959 and is now in ruins in an open field with a plaque to mark the spot. In 2014 Revanent Records, in collaboration with Jack White, released perhaps the elaborate box set of all time; a suitcase sized box replica of a Gramaphone containing a lush book, coloured vinyl and an mp3 stick holding over 800 songs form most musical genres. It retails for around $500, which is more than many of the artists actually made in the first place.



SON HOUSE ~ "DEATH LETTER BLUES";