Monday, May 01, 2006

My Pinko Card Expired...

...obviously, as is evidenced by the fact that it's nearly midnight (here), and I haven't put up a happy May Day post. I'll call it a strategic choice, which my safety in mind, seeing as there is generally a strong distaste for those even remotely associated with Marx. And that distaste comes from two opposing groups here, one well armed, the other crazy. Getting those two factions to unite as they hunt me down in the hills of Hazarajat wouldn't be good. Nonetheless, my 18 year-old self would be ashamed of my 28 year-old self.

Perhaps more importantly (and in dismissing the holiday celebrated around the world), and definately quite interestingly, as N-mode points out, today is Natonal Law Day. And yeah, so he's right on how lame it is. (Any significance to them choosing May Day to celebrate Law Day in the US?) BUT, he also found that the ABA site lets you buy Law Day t-shirts.

Take a look at those law-day revolutionaries. Soon the masses will be taking the streets and chanting "Our heritage of liberty under the law and the rule of law makes our democracy possible!", as the ABA suggests. And you don't even have to silk screen these t-shirts in the basement of your punk-house.

One click-shopping...take that 18 year-old self!

P.S. Completely foiled by blogger, or perhaps the powers that be conspiring to make a point, some javascript error wouldn't let me publish the post on May Day...

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Hah, I had to think for a minute about the Pinko. Yes, better thread carefully on the subject while there, the memory lane is particularly precarious for even former card-carrying Pinkos there, even in the idyllic Hazarajat.

But aren't the two groups the same? Unless, of course, by crazy you mean... oh, wait a MINITTT!

In a nice coincidence here in the US the immigration rights protestors subverted the day's significance very well, I thought.

quasim said...

Hamesha,
I've been meaning to post on this conversation that I had recently w/ one of my Afghan colleagues. It was right after Mujahideen Day, and the Marxists were mentioned, and I kept my mouth shut, and felt guilty or ashamed for not being forthright about my politics.

But glad to see that the crazy/well-armed ambiguity wasn't unnoticed.

Did you read that article in Slate about the May Day protests? Quite good, and insightful. But as it points out, what is going on in the US isn't necessarily a subversion of May Day, in many way's it's a return to the original roots, adapted for contemporary context. My problem, once again, is the involvement of ANSWER...when will the US left simply break those folks stranglehold and strong-arming.

quasim said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
quasim said...

Comrade,
I'm guessing the commies you surrounded yourself with are much different than the ones I've been previously surrounded by. My friends were either rabid Trotskyites or fake/neo-marxists anti-liberals like me. But I could never take the ISO folks. And here, I have no hiring authority.

And since I never really put my money where my mouth was, saying i gave up is a bit false.

But, as you note, easy for you to talk about it now that you're not worried about getting kidnapped or deported.

I'm sure there wouldn't be too many issues if I spoke up, as a few of my Afghan colleagues are good enough friends. But that day didn't seem like the right time or place. But yeah, I probably do start speaking up, would lead to some interesting conversations i'm sure.

NegativeMode said...

Excellent choices in news sources. At NegativeMode I pride myself on informing the world, i.e., my 16 readers, of arcane holidays.

Why, just today I posted a reminder of this Friday's upcoming holiday. I'll give you a hint: it's cause for celebration and has nothing to do with Mexico.

quasim said...

N-mode...I thought Bastille Day was later in the year???

quasim said...

E, That May Day tactic woulda been perfect. A day late...but I think I will try to be a bit more inquisitive and ask around. But this means i'm looking for folks that are at least 60 or so, no?

Given what many of those folks lived through, and their prior political (or current) beliefs, they must be really interesting folks to talk to.

Anonymous said...

E, you and I have had very different experiences with the commies. I found them to be pompous, rude, lazy, unable to carry a conversation and refused to treat any Afghan with respect, only the westerners. They only were nice to me when they heard that i was related to some high-ranking commies.

quasim said...

Pompous, rude, lazy?? (i'm excluding the conversation snipe)...where are my brethern? my comrades...

...but ahh, us good lefties (and not just the commies), where would we be w/out pomposity, rudeness and laziness...oh yeah, we'd be capitalists earning our keep as functioning members of society...