When I was a young Minnesotan of the baby boom, I remember a disdain coupled with amusement for the customs of Native Americans. Now many years later I have come to believe that among the most amusing of those customs – the Rain Dance – is indeed a reality. Unfortunately not in the beneficient manner originally contemplated by those Native American’s, but by an entirely different group using much less aware behavior to greater consequence. Now this new dance doesn’t promise rain on demand, but has changed the rain, the wind, the snow and the air we breathe. This new dance is fueled not by food, but by waste. It’s fueled by dead things, once alive things reduced to their elemental carbon. When you see a cloud of smoke from coal or oil, you must see it as the spreading of all those leaves and animals that died on the forest floor – going to mulch, decay, their elemental dead carbon filling the air we breathe. Breathing death. Spreading the air with death has repercussions. A few Souix dancing didn’t create rain on demand, but hundreds of millions dancing with carbon has changed everything. More rain, less rain, but not in the way that helps.

Tomatoes

I saw the tomatoes a friend from Minnesota grew in his garden one year – a magnificent group of heirlooms and beefsteaks of immense size and spectacular quality. I asked what he thought and he said it was ok. Not too bad.

A friend from New Orleans also gardens, albeit a bit less successfully. He had three small tomatoes – mostly a bit green. He noted a small one that was turning red and was immensely proud – We’ll be eating well tonight he said!

Why I left Minnesota and love New Orleans.

When the system of justice fails, how do you secure change?

Death by police in the black community must stop. Selling loose cigarets, wearing a hoodie, hands in pockets, kids with toys – all have resulted in excessive and systemic police violence. If police are somehow unable to distinguish guns from toys or drills resulting in deadly force and are also working in great fear of their own community, they should seek other careers.

The community of those that feel change must start, has a wonderful weapon at their disposal – the boycott. Boycotting the bus system in Birmingham brought change years ago. Now, lets start by a system of rolling boycotts of corporations that are part of the problem because of their history of exploiting low paid workers and their market and political power. What would happen if anyone with a social conscience decided to boycott Walmart on Monday, Kroger on Tuesday, Target on Wednesday, Walgreen on Thursday, Walmart on Friday, McDonalds on Saturday and Sunday?

I wonder how long it would take for these corporations to feel economic pain and begin to lobby for changes in policing in order to maintain their profits. I bet it would be a lot quicker than waiting for police and politicians to responding to citizens. Write all the letters you can, demonstrate until you drop and nothing much seems to happen. Stop spending and the results would be a whole lot quicker.

I really don’t care who gets boycotted or when. Everyone is free to suggest who and when, but a bit of coordination would make things highly visible, very quickly. Those in power only seem to respect violence and money. Rejecting violence is essential – it just leads to more violence, but money always speaks loudly!

Another tactic would be to fill your cart at a retailer, wait in line and then decide not to buy the goods and leave. This bit of civil disobedience would be more work, but would cause great heartburn among those retailers so targeted.

Hands up, don’t shoot! I can’t breathe! Where can this go?