WISHFUL WEDNESDAY
Weds Dec 4, 2019
My knee jerk reaction as a teen was not to trust money. I did not want it to be misconstrued that money bought my freedom or granted me talent. I made mum and dad park the Porsche up the block from where they dropped me off.
My parents worked their way out of poverty and from the stigma of the working class. None the less struggle and scraping-by throbs in my blood and bones, and I do not aspire riches. I see wealth as disease, a sickness ravaging the earth. There is honesty in no excess and ethical power in being poor.
Thanksgiving just past and we gave national thanks for the (Native American) genocide that made capitalism possible. We celebrate it by sharing a traditional, factory farmed family meal, slaughtering and eating millions of sentient beings (the turkey). Genocide cheered by genocide.
Black Friday backs up and guarantees both our slavery and obedience to commercialized reality. Then cyber Monday, Travel (and Giving) Tuesday, all up record sales for the Thanksgiving holidays in 2019! Record sales also means record amounts of non-bio-degradable packaging, objects and fuel that propel our species more rapidly toward extinction.
We have learned nothing, so caught in the consumer trap, so focused on catching the sale that we forget about saving the planet and humanity.
I have paint on my hands (literally) and it may as-well be blood. The paint is non biodegradable.
I am prolific painter. For me painting is like deep thinking. And right now there is a lot to think about. Being an artist, making even more objects for a clogged world makes me very unsettled.
One of my new paintings, titled, in loving memory of.. “ it is painted on old wood, marked with found industrial paint and ink, standing near it is a singed (burnt) log (stump).
In loving memory of the tree, of the ocean, of the animals, of the air… It is dark, but how can I not feel grim about the future of humanity? The Great Barrier Reef, that I swam in as a teen has lost almost all it’s color, bug life is rapidly diminishing due to leaf blowers, koala bears now face extinction (along with 200 species of plants and animals per day) and grocery and department stores still have single use plastic bags manufactured. The rich and the poor, both hooked on convenience turn a blind eye and double bag.
The crimes of capitalism escalate and denial is our only sanctuary.
This is WISHFUL WEDNESDAY and I wish for consumer insanity to stop! I wish for a day where everyone will scan their outfit, computing how little it cost, taking pride in hand me downs, thrift store seconds, found garments and old items, clothing your body well, adding up to $20 or less.
On this Wishful Wednesday I wish we’d see the original sin/mistake as the belief of ownership. I wish we’d realize, believe, imagine that we do not need money. I wish we’d begin to deeply take pride in poverty. And I wish the poor could rise-up and lead.
Money does not equal freedom, and chasing money is an excuse not to be free.
