on walking down the street, waiting for the train, and chomsky

i am walking down mass ave on my way to the train stop of the same name, when a young asian woman stops me. despite the fact that she is well dressed, she asks me "for a nickel, a penny, anything." She even offers me a quarter for a penny. she then notices that i am reading a book. "what are you reading?" she asks. i tell her that it is a book on class inequality in the u.s. stunned, she goes, "are you in college? why are you reading that? are you interested in that?" she then explains that her father is a multi-millionaire. she explains to me that she didn't realize that class was an issue in this country. i find 7 cents in my pocket and wish her a good day. she asks me if i need a dollar. i walk away. weird.

five minutes later, i am waiting for the train at the mass ave t stop to go to my parents house. a west indian or african guy notices that i am reading a book. unfortunately, it is the same book. again, i explain its contents. he begins to explain that he is a "pragmatist" and that the "rich should attempt to help the poor." i state that there shouldn't be billionaires while there are millions of homeless and hungry. this sets him off. "what, you want to take my money?" i ask if he's a billionaire, and if so, why is he taking the train? he momentarily calms down, and explains that the rich "have worked hard for what they have." he says "look at tom brady. you don't think he worked hard to get where he is?" i ask him if he thinks brady works harder than a coal miner or a garbage collector. he then switches to talking about "you are paid for the influence you have, not just how hard you work." i ask him how much influence rich inheritors have over our society. running out of arguments, he asks me "are you a communist?" i reply, in a seinfeld vain, "who are you, joe mccarthy? i didn't realize i was being grilled by the house unamerican activities committee." shortly after this, the train comes, and i make sure to get on a car far away from the grand inquisitor.

were these people just random crazies, or was i being followed? in any case, it's ironic that they were both people of color. the second exchange brings to mind an old sanford and son joke. fred, stuck in jail for unknowingly getting involved in a porn film, is asking the guard for a favor. the guard, who is black, declines. fred says, "hey man, what kind of brother are you? you must be a west indian."
i'll have to remember to not read any more books about class in public. i guess it hits a little too close to home. god forbid that we try to learn about the extent of american inequality.

yesterday, i finished yet another chomsky book. yet again, he stressed how we live in a very free society and that there is very little danger in speaking out against injustice in the u.s. if this is so, why was fred hampton murdered in his bed? if this is so, why was mlk killed shortly after he spoke out against the vietnam war and began to incorporate a more radical class analysis into his work? if this is so, why were the black pathers, aim, the iww, the weather undergound, the new left, and others brutally attacked, infiltrated, imprisoned, and even killed by the forces of the state? if this is so, why is mumia in jail? if this is so, why is leonard peltier in jail? if this is so, why was george jackson murdered? if this is so, why were huey newton and abbie hoffman driven mad by persecution? if this is so, why was lenny bruce hounded by the authorities and arrested for saying schmuck in public? if this is so, why were sacco and vanzetti executed? i could go on, but i think the point is clear.

if people like chomsky are not attacked by the forces of the state, maybe that should make us think about how just how ineffective chomsky's work is. the state is not "coercing" him because they don't need to.

a free society?

ask those buried by our bombs and languishing in our prisons.

free for who?