“When the rich rob the poor, it’s called business, when the poor fight back, it’s called violence.”
~Mark Twain.”
On Winter Solstice, I built a big bonfire. My neighbor David joined me briefly and I did my annual ritual of deciding what I wanted to let go of in the coming year, writing it down on paper and throwing it into the fire to be released forever. David was cold and went back inside his van. I got out a hoodie and sat looking up at the clear night sky. It was the peak of the Ursids meteor showers, but I suspect it was too early in the evening, because I didn’t see any. Still, it was a beautiful night and a beautiful fire, and I appreciated every sacred minute of it.
It’s been an easy, uneventful week for the most part. David and I took long walks several days. David is more of an explorer than I am and he introduced me to several of the walking paths surrounding the Magic Circle that I’d been unfamiliar with. I so often feel like a caveman when I’m outside on BLM land, but never more so than when I’m walking behind David, with not a stitch of clothing except for the fabric band that holds his dreadlocks neatly behind his head as we explore. He doesn’t wear shoes. He is as natural an element of the desert as the cacti and Palo Verde trees that surround us. He belongs here, and somehow, by extension, so do I.
The day after Christmas, I went into Quartzsite and did all my errands. I picked up snacks from the dollar store, got a few fresh fruits and veggies at the Coyote Market, and then topped off my propane at one of the many RV places. I visited David who had temporarily moved into town and was staying at Tyson Wells where they set up a market for the snowbirds that flow in this time of year. There are lots of tents set up to sell minerals and semi-precious stones and many catering to the RV crowd, selling tools, solar equipment, RV kitchen gadgets and some clothing. David is filling in for a friend who sells crystals and went to NY for the holiday. After our visit, I stopped for Indian food, and they were serving up lunches for free on Christmas and the couple days following. I’m not sure if it was because of Christmas, or some Hindu holiday that I’m unfamiliar with, or just a way to give back and say “thank you” to loyal customers at the end of the year. Whatever the reason, I graciously accepted, and brought home a delicious meal. I can’t think of a more important gesture of kindness than feeding people. It filled my belly and my heart.
Lessons From The Road: I fell down a rabbit hole on YouTube this week. I have continued my “news fast” but I made an exception after hearing the late-night talk show hosts comment about Luigi. I took the bait and watched several videos about the accused murderer of United Health Care’s CEO. I watched a compilation of (mostly young) people on Tik Tok cleverly mocking the greedy CEO with taunts such as “Sorry. Claim denied” and “Ooops. Pre-existing condition.” No empathy there. I saw a 20/20 documentary on Luigi and a few other posts by talking heads. I came across a video of Elizabeth Warren grilling the head of United Health at a senate hearing months ago, accusing him of getting rich (He apparently got paid millions of dollars every year) by denying (mostly poor) people lifesaving health care after they had paid his company for years in case of just such an illness. She said (more recently) “You can only push people so far.” I watched the crowds outside the courthouse holding “Free Luigi” signs as they chanted slogans showing their disdain for the American Health Care system. It seemed that the news media all started with “Of course we don’t condone violence…” and then they presented the question of whether it was OK to take out a serial killer. And I saw many talking heads and comedians calling the CEO of United Healthcare just that. How many innocent people had paid him and his company to take care of them should they ever need life-saving treatment only for him to turn his back when they needed it and walk away with millions of dollars in his own pocket in return? All in the name of wealth for the top tier.
Of course, YouTube latched onto my interest and didn’t stop there. They led me to all sorts of videos about people railing against billionaires who grew rich on the backs of the poor. Bernie Sanders in an interview with Joe Rogan (a long time ago, back before Joe was a MAGA nut) pointing out that the top 1% makes more than the bottom 50% of the people in this country combined. I saw videos about tax breaks for the rich, and how the suspected terrorists being held at Guantanamo Bay get better health care than most insured Americans. It was fairly depressing.
But the one lesson that seemed to be repeated over and over is that Billionaires are not your friends, and the U.S. government is and will continue to go out of its way to support the rich at the detriment of the poor. Follow the money. The rich don’t pay taxes but they do contribute to politicians re-election bids.
The question remains: Is it OK to take out a serial killer before he murders more innocent people? If you could go back in time and kill Hitler when he was a child to prevent the millions of deaths he caused as an adult would you do it? A great topic for a college debate team practice. I don’t eat chickens or cows or pigs because I think it is wrong (for me) to kill innocent animals when there is plenty of other food for me so I probably could not do this myself. But I have little sympathy for anyone who gets rich off of the pain and suffering of others.