THE NYC ANTI-BUSH BUZZ 6-26-04
It's a very strange time in our country's political history, and it's getting weirder every day. I can't recall in my short life at least a time when there was such a heavy, living, breathing, almost visible, anti-incumbent president, Anti-Bush buzz on the street. It blows my mind (in a good way).
I was in NYC a few weeks ago walking around, and over the course of my day I was somehow spontanioulsly entered into three seperate political conversations with complete strangers* or people I had just met. It seems to be the one topic that's burning a hole in everybody's mind. It's the "word on the street," if ever there was one, and people just can't help but talk about it. I've never seen politics do that to the general public (since 9-11) and it's awesome!
*Note, I almost never get in conversations with one complete stranger about politics, neigh THREE!
It's great to see young people actually giving a damn about what crap the government is pulling, and it's refreshing to discover what the breaking point actually is, wherin we collectively say, "No Mas" and throw in the towel on Bush, and just from walking around the city, it's obvious that that point has been reached with the current presidency.
THE COLUMBIAN VOTE:
Early Afternoon:
I was waiting for a bus to show up to take me into the city. It was a hot day and I was standing at a bus station in Clinton, New Jersey trying to stand in the shadows to stay out of the sun. It was a Saturday and being single again, I had a date that night so I was dressed in clean (newish) clothes, and wanting not to sweat them up I decided to stand in the shade of the closed on Saturdays makeshift waiting building that in all actuality was a large trailer.
As I entered the shade I found myself standing next to a young beautiful woman who resembled Shakira +15 lbs in the right places rapped in conversation with what appeared to be her father, I wouldn't know because they were speaking very fast Spanish. The man said what I assumed to be the Spanish equivilant of goodbye, drove off, and she was standing there alone.
"Do you know what time it is?" She asked me in English with a cute Columbian Accent. Somehow we entered into a discussion about politics, and having just beat www.bushgame.com the night before I was kind of pissed about how bad the times we are living in are politically, and the chance of Bush getting re-elected was wearing on me so I took her bait.
She was totally against Bush and was so happy that she finally got her citizenship which allowed her to vote as a citizen for the first time so she could do her part to oust him from office. When we arrived in port authority we were so into the discussion that she asked if she could walk with me cause we were going the same way, the conversation and debate continued till 34th street where she took a left and I kept going.
THE SMOKERS VOTE:
Dusk:
After getting to 23rd street I hit a bank to make a deposit and took a cab down to a small resturant where I was to meet my date. I was a little early so I decided to stand outside and wait by these potted plants, which I soon realized was the makeshift smoking section for the two resturants bordering this one.
A customer of a resturant on the right came over and started smoking, and a waitress from the resturant on the left took a break and came over to smoke as well.
Within seconds they started talking about Bush and how currupt he is, and what we as citizens could do to help get him out of office. This spontanious conversation kind of took me aback, I had to turn to them and introduce myself.
Cojo: "Excuse me, do you two know each other?"
Girl: "No, we just met."
Cojo: "Wow, you are arguing about this like you have been friends forever."
Which was how I felt talking with that Shakira chick earlier. I then joined in their conversation and we brainstormed some ideas. Ah, you gotta love the freedoms afforded to us by our forefathers.
THE UNEMPLOYED VOTE:
Night:
When my date arrived we had a delicious dinner. She had recently lost her job and had decided to take a week off of looking for a new one to join the Kerry Campaign. "I want to do what I can to help, rather than just sit around moping about loosing my job."
We got into a good lengthy discussion about this (Luckily we were in agreement, rule #1 to dating, don't discuss RELIGION or POLITICS).
Reguardless of the political beginning to the date, it actually was a really good time.
THE CRACKHEAD VOTE:
A few days later I was back in my little crappy town in New Jersey. I wandered into the local bar here (which is a dive) where I ran into someone who used to live on my street when I was 7. He had gotten hooked on crack over the years and now is a haggard little guy around 24, who looks like crap but generally has a smile on his face and a positive additude and seemed genuinly happy to see me after all these years (seems there are stories about me in this town, I'm one of the few guys who "made it out" to the big city and what not-see the movie SUBURBIA).
We bought a few rounds and started shooting the sh*t. Remembering that his family was heavily Republican as a child, I was curious, so I asked him what he thought about the whole political climate these days, and the conversation went something like this.
Cojo: So what's your take on politics right now?
Guy: Man, Coj, I'm ignorant.
Cojo: OK
Guy: I'm ignorant to the whole Republican this, Democrat that bullsh*t. I don't give a damn about that sh*t, I care about people, and what they stand for. I think having only two parties to choose from is pure bullsh*t. It's crazy. If Dairy Queen only had two flavors of ice cream, I would move the f*ck out of this town to a place that sold more flavors, you know what I'm sayin'?
Cojo: Yeah, I see what you mean.
Guy: Bush? I wouldn't vote for Bush if my life depended on it, he's a puppet on a string. I'm not smart about these things Coj. I know I'm ignorant, but I look at this man on TV, I listen to him, I listen to him speak. He's almost like a small child, or a retard. He's a puppet on a stick. I'd rather vote YOU president, I'd rather vote that bartender president and I don't even know him.
Cojo: Hah!
Guy: Seriously man, it's like when you watch Kevin Smith movies, or Dawson's Creek and the characters are talking at like, a much higher level of speech then they can actually talk. Like you see them say these words, and you are like, no f*cken way that guy knows what that word means, like, that's some sh*t that was written for him and that's probably the first time in this dude's life he's ever even tried to say that word. That's what I think of when I see Bush speak.
Cojo: I get ya.
Guy: I'm not sh*tting you man! I got some friends who sell used cars, and they lie to your face to sell you a crappy car, when I see Bush speak with conviction, I see a used car salesman lying to me, lying to the public, and like lying so much we almost start to believe it. He might even believe it, who knows!??! And last week I see Regan died, and I'm like, just watch Bush try to use this to his advantage, and my friend is reading the paper and he's like "Get this, Bush is quoted at saying 'Regan is my mentor'" or some sh*t and I was like, man, that is too f*cking much! And they are carting his body around the country like a sideshow, and old ass Nancy has to go to wherever the body is, and kiss the coffin and whatnot. They shoud charge admission and call it the Nancy Kisses the coffen tour. And you just know she's not all that sad, cause that ain't Regan in the box. That's the shell of a man who was no longer Reagan. A man who's mind has been gone for years and Nancy knows that dude, Nancy has been waiting for him to die so he could have some peace, he couldn't even recognize her or his family. She said goodbye to him long ago, all this stuff on TV was nonsense political crap to take the public's mind off of all this crap Bush is getting hit with, and if Bush spins this to his advantage, then it's a very sad time for America.
Cojo: So I guess you are voting for Kerry then.
Guy: I'll tell you something, I have never registered to vote in my life. Never gave a sh*t about any of this. But I'm registering this year man, cause I want to be one of the people that helps vote that dumb f*ck out of office.
THE ARTIST VOTE
Did you know:
"Ignoring experts who have repeatedly justified their value in education, Bush has cut funding for the arts by $30 million for fiscal year 2003."
Just another reason for starving artists to be pissed off!
There is a great Politically Motivated art auction going down on Tuesday, June 29th
DEMOCRATIC VICTORY 04
buy art -- bye bye bush
"Act Now!
Join artists and friends in saying ’ÄúBye-Bye Bush’Äù and help elect Democratic candidates at the federal, state, and local levels at an art auction to benefit DemocraticVictory2004
To learn more, go here:
http://www.actforvictory.org/artauction
Tuesday, June 29
Silent auction: 6:30pm
Live auction: 8:00pm
Phillips, de Pury & Company
450 West 15th Street, New York, NY"
here is the list of a few of the contributing artists:
Works By:
Chuck Close
Renee Cox
Willem de Kooning
Richard Diebenkorn
Jim Dine
Fred Eversley
Eric Fischl
Frank Gehry
Philip Glass
Robert Greene
Jasper Johns
Roberto Juarez
Alex Katz
Jeff Koons
David Levinthal
Roy Lichtenstein
Alan McCollum
Patrick McMullan
Ed Moses
Claes Oldenberg
Robert Rauschenberg
James Rosenquist
Alexander Ross
Mark Rothko
Nancy Rubins
Joel Shapiro
Cindy Sherman
James Siena
Kiki Smith
Patti Smith
Nancy Spero
Doug & Mike Starn
Brian Tolle
Andy Warhol
Bruce Weber
William Wegman
Matthew Weinstein
Allan Wexler
Sue Williams
Elyn Zimmerman
To see full list of all the (over 100 some ) artists go here:
http://actforvictory.org/act.php/auction/artists/
To see some of the artwork up for auction go here:
http://actforvictory.org/act.php/auction/items/
Just another day in the life of an Art Juggernaut.
-Cojo